


Northern Downpour

by opal_sapphire



Category: Fables: The Wolf Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, M/M, Murder, Murder Mystery, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 09:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 49,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20433287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/opal_sapphire/pseuds/opal_sapphire
Summary: It starts with a murder.  Your sister’s murder, to be exact.  And once you jump into the investigation, finding answers brings more questions and reveals a much, much larger scheme at hand.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This whole series was inspired by the prompt "you're all i've got left now" from @depressed-stressed-80s-obsessed on tumblr

Three loud knocks on your door woke you up. You glanced at the clock and groaned. Who the hell knocks at this damn hour?

(Though your body clock was fucked at this point, so it was perfectly reasonable for someone to come knocking now, but you were tired so you didn’t really give much of a shit.)

The knocks came again, louder and more forceful this time. You begrudgingly got up and trudged to the door. Bigby and Snow were on the other side.

"What?" You snapped.

He gestured for you to follow, but didn't say anything. You raised an eyebrow and crossed your arms.

"It's important," Snow said quietly.

You took in the worry on her face. Something was wrong. You sighed and changed out of your pajamas before following them.

The walk to the elevator was tense and quiet. You had no idea what was going on, and Bigby didn't seem to either.

"Snow," he said.

She didn't respond.

"Snow!"

"What?" She snapped.

You raised your eyebrows.

"Sorry, I'm...what is it?"

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"Out in front of the building. We have to get there--"

She stopped when you met a man around the corner.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Good morning," Snow replied. She made a face. "Or, evening."

He chuckled. Neither you nor Bigby said anything as you passed him. You stopped in front of the elevator and you pressed the button.

"These walls are paper thin," Snow said quietly. "We need to be careful. We'll talk outside."

You had a bad feeling about this whole thing as the elevator took you down. You stepped out into the lobby, and Snow gestured to go out the door. Peering through the glass, you could see a lump on the front steps. You exchanged a look with Bigby, and the three of you went outside.

Grimble's jacket was covering something on the second step. Bigby went down in front of it and crouched. You stood behind him. Snow stayed in front of the doors, glancing out past the front gate. Bigby removed the jacket.

A head. A fucking head was lying on the doorsteps of the Woodlands. You peered closer, then took a step back. No, no no no.

You clenched your fists, digging your nails into your palms until you could breathe again. You couldn't believe it. You couldn't believe this was happening.

"So, who found her?"

You blinked, Bigby's voice snapping you out of your daze.

"I did," Snow replied. "She was just like this, I didn't touch her. I grabbed Grimble's jacket to cover her with, then I came to get you right away."

"No one else was with you?"

"No." She hesitated. "Bigby, did one of us...do this?"

"There hasn't been a murder in Fabletown in a long time," he reminded her.

"All the more reason we shouldn't start a panic before we know what's going on," she said slowly.

She looked back toward the gate. You turned, following her gaze. A couple people were passing by across the street.

Snow came down the steps. "Have a look around. We don't have much time before people will be coming through here."

You turned back to the head. Bigby closed her eyes, and you crossed your arms tightly and shifted your weight.

"She was placed here with some care," he said.

"What do you mean?" Snow asked.

"You can see she wasn't just tossed here. She was deliberately placed for us to find."

You tilted your head. "That's an odd cut as well. What could've done that?"

"Either something very sharp, or something with magic attached to it," Bigby replied.

You squinted. "What's that sticking out of her mouth?"

There was something purple just hanging there from between her lips. Bigby pulled on it, and a piece of fabric came out with a ring tied to it. Your chest constricted at the sight of the ring.

"It's her ribbon," Bigby said. He turned it so the top of the ring was facing him. "There's some kind of symbol here."

"I don't recognize it," Snow said.

"Me neither."

"Let me see," you said, holding your hand out.

Bigby placed the ring, still attached to the ribbon, in your hand. You studied it. He stood.

"I'm sorry, this is just so surreal," Snow muttered. "Uh, what do you wanna do next?"

"We still have some time," Bigby replied. "I should keep investigating the area."

You pocketed the ring and ribbon. You immediately went for the fence on the side of the building. You stopped when you nearly stepped in a small puddle of blood. Bigby came next to you and crouched. He touched the blood and rubbed it between his fingers. You reflexively scrunched your nose.

"Doesn't look that old," you said.

"No, it isn't," he agreed. "I'd say it's been here an hour, maybe."

You kept walking. A flash of light blue caught your eye, and you picked up a piece of denim fabric off the ground. Bigby glanced at it, then at you. You, knowing exactly what he was doing, glanced down at your sweatpants and offered a grim smile.

"Yeah, no," you mumbled.

You gave him the fabric, and the two of you went on to the fence. There was blood on the one of the spikes. It seemed about as old as the puddle.

"Someone hopped over and got caught," you guessed.

Bigby nodded. "Looks that way." He side-eyed you. "You alright?"

"Well, finding a head wasn't exactly my plan for the evening," you replied, giving a little shrug.

You headed back to Snow before he could ask any more questions. You would answer them when you were ready. You weren't ready now.

"We should move her," Snow said quietly. "Before anyone shows up. We'll find out more at the Business Office. She'll be in the books, I'm sure of it. Do either of you have any idea what's going on?"

"Someone brought her in from the outside," Bigby replied.

"That makes sense. There's no signs of a struggle. How do you know?"

"We found blood on the fence back there. Someone hopped over."

"Okay, good. That's solid."

She paused, and you knew what she was going to say.

"I'm gonna have to tell Crane about this."

You let out a deep sigh.

"As long as King Cole is gone, he's acting mayor," Snow continued. "He needs to know. And he's going to find out anyway, so we might as well get out in front of it."

"Don't tell him," Bigby said. "It'll just complicate things."

"We have all the motivation we need to find out who did this," you added.

"He's the mayor," Snow insisted.

"Deputy mayor," Bigby corrected. "Position's a joke."

"I'll think about it."

"I just don't want him interfering."

Snow went up the steps. "Crane's not what's important right now. We need to figure out who this girl was so we can find whoever did this. Take this back to Doctor Swineheart. He can take a look it. I'll meet you both at the Business Office."

She went inside, and Bigby covered the head with the jacket. You gingerly picked her up.

"I'll take her," you said, not meeting his eyes. You went up the steps and paused in front of the door, turning. "I know you've got questions, and I'll answer them once I've cleared my head, okay?"

And because there was still concern written all over Bigby's face, you gave a small, reassuring smile. Then you went inside.  
\------------------------------------------  
You caught the door to the Business Office just as it was closing behind Bigby. You heard one of the people in line mutter a rude name as you passed.

"...because you are the one bringing this to me, Miss Snow!" Crane was saying. "The one who so simply stumbled upon this catastrophe on our very doorstep! The last thing I need with Mayor Cole away is a hysteria, do you understand me?"

"Yes," Snow replied. "Of _course_ I do--"

"_Don't interrupt me!_"

"You asked me a question!"

"Don't change the subject. _You_ are to blame for this unpleasantness, Miss Snow!"

"I brought this news to you as soon as I could!"

"You are trusted to keep things running smoothly around here. Who else is to blame if not you?"

"Back off, Ichabod," Bigby snapped. "It's not her fault."

"I don't need your help, Bigby," Snow said.

"Instead of trying to assign blame, maybe we should figure out how to catch the fucker who did this."

"Oh, says the man most to blame to this catastrophe," Crane snapped. "How convenient."

He went and sat in his desk chair. "Sheriff, you and your partner are charged with protecting the citizens of Fabletown. Your failure to do so cost someone their life, and the safety of the entire community."

You bit your tongue until you tasted blood. God, you wanted to _clobber_ him.

"Tell me you've been doing something," he continues. "Are there any leads? Suspects? Anything at all? Any shred of evidence that you three know what the hell you're doing? Because right now I have half a mind to fire all of you."

"The Woodsman is a person of interest," Bigby said. "From what we've been able to gather, he was last seen with the victim."

"The Woodsman?" Crane repeated. "That drunk wretch is the cause of this?"

"It's a lead," you said tightly. "Nothing more."

"Well, find him! Get him in here if that's all you have to go on. You three need to get a handle on this situation quickly and quietly. The last thing we need is all of Fabletown knowing there's a killer amongst us."

He turned to Snow. "Call Vivian right this minute and let her know I'm coming in early for my massage."

"I will," Snow replied.

"Where is the bottle of wine you were to purchase?"

She looked at the desk with no bottle in sight, then stood.

"Oh, bother," Crane grumbled, standing. "Forget it. Can't do anything right."

He headed for the door. "Do your jobs. Or we'll find someone who can."

"Go fuck yourself," you muttered.

Crane paused and turned. "Did you say something?"

You smiled sweetly. "I said we're on it."

He didn't seem convinced, but he left anyway.

"Well, that could've gone better," Snow sighed.

"I told you not to tell him," Bigby grumbled.

"I know. I probably should have listened to you."

He pulled out a cigarette and went to light it.

"Crane doesn't like people smoking in--never mind. Smoke away."

"Wine to a massage?" You asked.

She shrugged. "Probably a gift. The weird part is that he's actually being nice to someone. I know I bought that damn bottle."

Rattling brought your attention to the top of one of bookcases. Bufkin peered over at you. "Is he gone?"

"Yes, thankfully," Snow replied.

Bufkin flew to the desk. You raised your eyebrows at the bottle in his hand. He started trying to open it.

"Bufkin," Snow said, exasperated.

He set the bottle down and grinned sheepishly. "Hello, Miss Snow."

"Drinking? This early? Where did you get that?"

"It was by Mr. Ichabod's desk."

"Then don't you think it probably belongs to him?"

He paused. "Maybe?"

Snow took the bottle away. Bufkin turned to Bigby, but you zoned out as you felt the ring in your pocket. You'd undone the ribbon on your way to the Office and left it at your apartment. You pulled out the ring and studied the symbol on it. You hadn't seen it in...a while.

"You never said if you recognized it," Bigby said.

You nodded slowly as Snow came back over.

"Her name was Faith," you said. "She was a princess in the Homelands. Her mother, the queen, got really sick, and made her father, the king, promise to only marry the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, should he choose to remarry. When the time came, no one matched his wife's beauty, except one. Faith. His own daughter.

"Faith tried to get out of it, but her father said if she wouldn't marry him then he would marry her sibling. Faith had a magic cloak made from the skin of her father's prized donkey. It hid their appearances so she and her sibling could escape his kingdom. A prince saw past the magic, and he and Faith fell in love."

There was a heavy silence for a few minutes. You fiddled with the ring between your fingers.

"How do you know all this?" Bigby asked.

You finally looked up. "I'm the sibling. Faith was my sister."

If the circumstances had been very, very different, you would have laughed at the shock on their faces. It wasn't often you got to surprise Bigby like this.

You stuffed the ring back in your pocket and squared your shoulders. You went to the Magic Mirror.

"Mirror, Mirror, if you're able, tell me all about this Fable," you said.

"Of which Fable do you wish to know?" The Mirror asked.

"Show me my father, please."

Bigby came up next to you as an image of a skeletal hand lying in the dirt faded in. There were a few arrows sticking in the ground around it. The image faded away, and the Mirror came back.

"Show me... Faith, please."

You tensed, ready to see what you didn't want to see. But the image never appeared.

"Through powerful magic her whereabouts concealed," the Mirror intoned. "Unfortunately for you, these lips are sealed."

"What?" You breathed, eyes wide.

"These lips are sealed. It's not my choice of phrasing, Blue. It's simply the way this has to be."

"Faith said the same thing," Bigby said.

You looked at him. "What?"

"I asked her who she worked for, but all she said was "these lips are sealed.""

You looked back at the Mirror, mind racing. What the hell did that mean?

“I never knew you had a sister.”

“Her husband and I never really liked each other, and they went everywhere together, so I didn’t see them much. I tried to get along with him for her sake, but he was insufferable. I don’t think she ever quite forgave me for it, and it kinda put a wedge between us.”

“Were you close before?”

“Close enough.” Enough for the lack of communication to hurt, enough for regret for not trying harder to choke you.

"Show me Prince Lawrence, please," you asked after a minute.

"Is that the prince she married?" Bigby asked.

You nodded. The image the Mirror showed was...strange. The room was dim, making it almost impossible to see much of anything. There was a bloody knife on the floor, and someone's legs peeking out of the darkness behind it.

"What is he doing?" Bigby muttered. "Where is this?"

"Where's what?" Snow called.

"Do you know where Prince Lawrence lives?" Bigby asked.

"If he's a prince, probably relocated in the South Bronx. Yellow building, red window shutters?"

"Red frames."

"Yeah, that's the one. I can take us there."

Bigby left the Mirror. You thanked the Mirror and followed. You headed for the door, but the phone rang.

"Sorry," Snow sighed. "I have to get that."

Once she was out of earshot and had picked up the phone, Bigby nudged you. "You okay?"

You nodded. You weren't okay, you both knew that, but your response was both habit and a hint to drop it. For how long, you'd have to wait and see.

"Bigby," Snow called. "It's for you."

You crossed your arms as he went and took the phone. While you waited, your mind began to wander. Did Lawrence kill Faith? Based on what the Mirror showed you, things didn't look great for him. Either he used that knife, or someone else used it for or on him. Regardless of whether or not he killed Faith, why she was killed still remained, assuming you couldn't get an answer out of him.

You sighed. Bigby hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" You asked.

"Hard to say," he replied. "Something going on at Toad's place."

"What about Faith's husband?" Snow asked.

You shrugged.

"I don't know," Bigby said. "But he might be in trouble. And we should go there anyway to search her apartment."

"Did Toad say who was there?" You asked. "Was it the Woodsman?"

"I don't know, it's possible. Whoever it was, it didn't seem like Toad was happy to seem 'em."

"Well, maybe Prince Lawrence can wait," Snow suggested.

Bigby looked at you. "What do you think?"

"I'm sure he's fine,” you said. "Toad sounds more important."

Truth be told, you mostly didn't want to have to go through your sister's things and deal with Lawrence. Toad's call gave you an excuse to put it off. You just hoped you hadn't made a mistake, given what you saw.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time you made it to the apartment building where Toad lived, the sun was up and shining bright. Bigby had been telling you and Snow in on his fight with the Woodsman.

He gestured to the crushed car parked in front of the building. "And then we ended up going out the window and I landed on Toad's car."

"You guys made a real mess," Snow said.

It was then you noticed the giant hole in the second story wall.

"It looks worse in the day," Bigby muttered.

"Because it must’ve looked so nice at night," you said.

Movement inside caught your eye. Someone was lurking around inside Woody's place, you could see them through the giant hole. You nudged Bigby and pointed.

"Hey!" You called.

The figure froze, then bolted. Bigby took off inside, you hot on his heels. Snow stayed behind. You skidded to a stop in the doorway. No one was there.

A broken lamp lay on the floor. A bedframe was overturned against the wall, the sink was broken, and a razor blade was in front of your feet. You kicked it away.

"This look worse in the day too?" You asked, a hint of a smile on your face.

Bigby rolled his eyes. The two of you went back downstairs. Snow was standing in front of what you assumed was Toad's door. You could hear someone crying on the other side.

"Is that his son?" You whispered.

"Toad's? I think," Bigby replied.

You knocked on the door. The crying stopped as it gently swung open by itself after the first knock. Toad and his son were standing there. You found it a little odd that Toad was wearing his hat indoors.

"Bigby! Blue!" Toad exclaimed. "And Miss White! Surely you didn't come all this way just for my bother?"

You raised an eyebrow. He turned sheepish.

"It's embarrassing to have to admit, but uh, I thought there was someone else in Woody's place. There wasn't though, not when I checked. Nothin' but a leaky drainpipe. Imagination must've got the best of me!"

"There was someone," Bigby said. "But they took off when we got here."

"Is that right?" Toad glanced at TJ. "Guess your dad's ears have got a year or two left. Haven't gone totally to the dogs, eh?"

TJ didn't respond.

"Are you alright?" Snow asked.

"He's fine, Miss White," Toad replied. "Just stung his little toe. Better swimmer than walker, just like his dad."

You exchanged a look with Bigby and Snow.

"So I guess you'll be taking off now," Toad said.

"Someone was here," you hissed. "And something is going on, and just so this trip wasn't a complete waste of time, we're gonna take a look around."

"Alright, alright, I just don't wanna waste your time is all," Toad relented.

Snow went and crouched in front of TJ. "Grown-ups, am I right?"

TJ only offered an "um" in response.

"Flycatcher said you had a pretty awesome insect collection," she tried. "I'd really love to see it. Is it in your room?"

TJ hesitated. "It has a weevil."

"Cool!"

She stood, and TJ, smiling, lead her in his room. She shut the door behind them.

"Just mind the upholstery while you're looking for nothing," Toad snapped, turning away.

You stuck your tongue out at him. Bigby snorted. You looked at the broken lamp laying on the floor.

"How'd this happen?" You asked.

Toad turned back to you. "Fuckin’ hell. Damn thing must've fell off the table."

"Right, the lamp just fell off the table?"

"Or the boy was faffin' about, playing sods and swordfish. Who knows with the lad."

Sure. You took note of the full electric outlet.

Bigby pointed to the door. "The lock's busted too. This place is falling apart."

"What?" Toad asked.

"The lock. Looks like somebody kicked in the door."

"For Christ's sake, the fuckin' lock's been busted for weeks, mate. Rotted just like everything else is this bloody building."

You went down the steps into the living space. Bigby followed and went to the wall next to the fireplace. There was a suspiciously dark spot on the wall.

"Just some wood rot," Toad said. "Not mold or anything."

"You bleeding?" Bigby asked.

Toad started a little. "Why? Is that--"

"It's blood. Still fresh."

Toad looked between the two of you. You looked him over. He didn't appear to be bleeding. He could be hiding it, though.

"Oh, well," he stammered. "I, uh, I cut me hand. Ran around like a tit trying to pick out a wrap. Must've got some on the furnishments."

You glanced at his hands. No wrap around either of them. No sign of blood or a wound.

"Sounds painful," Bigby said.

"Don't you go Mother Henning me now!" Toad joked. "The wound didn't sit very long. Perks of being a Fable, I s'pose. And a frog."

You nearly stepped on the poker laying in the middle of the rug. You picked it up and shared a look with Bigby when you saw the blood on the tip.

"There's blood on the poker as well," you said. "What happened?"

"Well, that's how it happened, didn’t it?" Toad explained slowly. "I was--I was poking the coals and it slipped a bit. Sliced open my foot like a seashell. Hurt like a shit, the ugly thing."

You glanced at his foot. No sign anything had happened. You glanced at Bigby. He looked just as done as you were.

"If you're gonna say something, out with it!" Toad snapped.

"You said you cut your hand," you snapped back.

He blanched. "Y-yeah, no, I did cut my hand. I cut my hand first, and that made me drop the damn thing on me foot." He chuckled nervously. "Ruinous flip of events, really."

The way Toad spoke made it sound like he was making it all up on the spot. The stammering, the obvious anxiety at your questions. You didn't buy any tiny bit of whatever bullshit he was trying to sell you.

You looked between the poker and the blood on the wall. Judging by the pattern of the stain, you guessed someone could have been whacked. You swung the poker lightly, like you were whacking someone.

"Oh my God, will not make a big faff out of this," Toad groaned, waving his arms. "There's nothing to solve here, I'm telling you everything that happened! Why don't you believe me?"

"Because it looks like there was a fight," you replied, dropping the poker. "Dunno why you'd cover it up, but you're clearly lying about something--"

"I'm not--" He tried to cut in.

"--and you're just gonna make this worse for yourself the longer you let it go on," you finished, raising your voice.

"I'm not bullshitting you," he insisted. "Honest."

You hummed, unconvinced. You turned in a slow circle, looking over everything. You stopped when you noticed a dust ring on the side table. You went and looked at it. Bigby looked over your shoulder at it.

"That more blood?" Toad asked.

You shook your head. "Just a clean space in the dust. You move something?"

You looked at the lamp, at the shape of the bottom. It matched the shape of the dust ring.

"Bloody Hell, Blue, what sinister bit have you uncovered this time?" Toad demanded, voice rising. "I left the tap water running? Didn't sort the recycling? What's the point of all this, mate, really?!"

"The broken lamp was here," Bigby said. "Just tell us what happened."

"Nothing happened, mate. _Nothing._ And why did the lamp have to be there, of all the bloomin' pointless inquiries?"

"Because the electric outlets by that table are full, Toad," you sighed. "So the lamp wasn't over there. It was plugged in over here, and now it's there."

"I-I did some refiguring. Who the fuck cares?

"And not plug it in?" Bigby scoffed. "Come on, Toad."

"I just hadn't gotten around to it yet. You see how many damn plugs there are."

You pinched the bridge of your nose, closed your eyes, and exhaled slowly. You opened your eyes again and, hands on your hips, turned to look for something else. It appeared Bigby had beaten you to it as he opened the window.

"There's some marks here on the windowsill," he said, turning.

"Well, Junior leaves his toys out all the time," Toad said.

"These don't look like they're from a toy."

"Oh, well, just last night, when I'd come out, I was in a--a downright tizzy, mate, as you would be, and I plum forgot the keys to this place, and I had to climb in through the bloody window."

"Really."

"Scared Junior half to death."

"Why the window, though?" You asked.

"Huh?"

"You said the lock on your door has been busted for weeks. You wouldn't have needed a key to get in, so why'd you go through the window?"

"Fuckin' hell, just what're you on about, mate? After the state I was in I didn't have me head, that's all it was, I forgot the fuckin' handle was fuckin' busted. And I'll tell you what else," Toad added. "It's embarrassing, you two bringing all this shit up, so quit it with the third degree and all that."

You and Bigby went back up the steps and stopped in front of Toad. You crossed your arms.

"I'm begging for mercy over here," Toad said. "I was looking forward to a nice afternoon, just me and me son, and you've taken up enough of the day with all this--this sniffing around at me private belongings! I'm sorry I called, really, I am, but will you please, _please_ just _bugger off!_"

"Not yet," Bigby replied.

""Not yet"? No one fought anyone, there wasn't any scrap. So when? When are you gonna leave?"

"When you start telling the truth."

"But I've told you the truth, mate, what more do you want?"

"Toad," you said sharply. "These stories have made no sense. You didn’t cut yourself on the poker, you didn't forget your keys, you didn't bump the lamp off the table. You wanna tell us what's _really_ going on here?"

TJ's door opened, and he and Snow came out.

"She doesn't think much of me, I think," he was saying.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Snow replied. She looked at you and Bigby. "Progress?"

She looked at Toad, and before any of you could answer, she gasped. "Mr. Toad, you're bleeding."

You looked and, sure enough, there was blood coming out from under his hat.

"Take off the hat," you ordered quietly.

He did so, revealing a gash in his head. He sat on an upside-down crate behind him. TJ lingered close to him.

"It was that butcher," he explained. "A Tweedle, Dum or Dee. You gotta strip 'em down to their Johnnies before you can tell which is which."

Snow offered him a handkerchief, and he took it and pressed it to the wound. "He came bargin' in, screamin' about something the Woodsman had, or thought he had, I dunno. He tore up the place, beat me up when I said I didn't have it. I tried to go out the window, but he pulled me back in."

"Do you know where the Tweedle went?" Bigby asked.

"He mentioned something about Prince Lawrence's."

Oh, goodie. Maybe you'd get a chance to meet a Tweedle.

"I dunno if he'd already been there," Toad continued, "or was going there, but he said something about it."

He stood. "I would've told you, really, I wanted to. But he said if word ever got back to him, if he ever thought you two knew, or Miss White, he'd come back and kill my boy."

Your heart sank.

"I even tried to give the bastard her coat, but he wouldn't take it."

"Whose coat?" You asked.

"The girl."

"Dad borrows things from people who live here," TJ said cheerfully.

Toad glared at him.

"Uh...sometimes?"

"Borrow?" Bigby sighed.

"I don't steal nothin'," Toad insisted. "I merely repossess what's been left behind."

"We'll be taking the coat now," you said.

You tried not to cringe at the pitying look you saw Bigby and Snow exchange. TJ went down to the fireplace. You joined him and helped him dig up the chimney. Your fingers brushed something furry, and you pulled. Out came Faith's donkey cloak. You laid it out on the chair and stared at it. The others joined you.

There was an envelope sticking out of the mouth. You grabbed it.

"It's addressed to Lawrence," you said.

"Do you wanna try and give it to him, or..." Snow trailed off.

You opened it and read it yourself before reading it out loud. "I'm sorry. Faith."

"What could she have been sorry for?" Snow asked.

You shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe Lawrence does."

You pocketed the note.

"Well, it's been quite a surprising day for all of us, hasn't it?" Toad said. "I'd see you out, but I'm afraid of dripping any more blood in the place."

You didn't appreciate his sarcasm. Bigby went for the door. You and Snow said goodbye to TJ and followed. Once outside, Bigby lit a cigarette. He offered you one. You took it.

"Does it always go that smoothly?" Snow asked.

"Not often," Bigby replied.

"So Lawrence's now?" You asked.

Bigby nodded. "It's our best lead."

"Our only lead, really," Snow said.

You blinked. "Well, when you put it that way."


	3. Chapter 3

Standing outside Lawrence's place, you couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. Whether it was the fact that neither of you liked each other or that you were about to tell him Faith was dead, you didn't know. Maybe it was a combination of the two.

"I don't wanna stay here any longer than we have to," Snow said. "So let's just pick an approach and stick to it. Just humor me."

"We're here to question Lawrence," Bigby replied. "Bump him up on the suspect list, or cross him off entirely."

Snow crossed her arms. "Okay."

"What?"

"I just don't think he did it."

They looked to you. You shook your head. "I think he's an asshole. But he loved Faith. He's not the killing type."

"In cases like these isn't it usually the husband?" Bigby asked.

"Yeah, for mundies," you replied. "This is different."

You went up to the door. It was cracked open. You knocked anyway, then pushed it open.

It was dark. The only light came from the TV. There was a certain smell to the place that made you scrunch your nose--some kind of mix of mold and dust and body odor. There was a body on the floor in between the TV and an armchair. The three of you rushed over, but Lawrence was already gone. You gingerly rolled him over, and jerked back.

_He was alive._

There was a wound in his chest, still leaking blood, but he was alive. Snow knelt down and propped his head up on her lap.

Bigby turned to you. "Go get Doctor Swineheart."

You turned to leave.

"_No_," Lawrence groaned. "Let me go."

He kept talking, but you couldn't understand anything.

"What is it that you're telling us?" Snow asked.

"Water," he whispered slowly.

"Blue, water, kitchen."

You raced to the kitchen, going through all the cabinets before finally finding a glass. You filled it up with water and went back out, careful not to spill. Bigby took the glass from you and knelt, giving it to Lawrence.

"If you have something to ask him, you should do it now," Snow said softly.

"Who did this to you?" Bigby asked.

"Faith," Lawrence breathed. "Faith..."

His body went limp as the light went out of his eyes. You muttered a curse to yourself. Snow closed his eyes and gently set him off her lap, then stood.

She turned to you. "Do you still have that letter?"

You pulled the letter from your pocket and handed it to her. She placed it in Lawrence's hand. "It was only two words, but he died without seeing them."

You turned away and started walking around. You might not have liked the guy, but he didn't deserve to die like this. You found it hard to believe that Faith had killed him. It didn't make sense. You chewed on your nail as you looked at the pictures on the wall behind the armchair. There was one of Faith and Lawrence together. They looked happy.

"When do you think that was taken?" Snow asked.

"A while ago," you replied.

Bigby, standing next to you, pointed to another. You sighed through your nose. Of course your sister had chosen that one to hang on the wall. A small smile pulled at your lips. You were standing next to each other, smiling at the camera. Your hair was blue in this photo.

"Y'know, she was the one who gave me my nickname," you said. "First time she saw me with blue hair, she only called me Blue once, and next thing I know I'm telling everyone to call me Blue."

"How come I never knew you had a sister?" Bigby asked.

"We had already started drifting apart when you and I started working together," you replied.

"What happened?"

You crossed your arms. "I dunno, really. Shit happens, I guess."

Regret filled your chest. Maybe if you had tried harder, talked to her more, Faith would still be alive. You could've helped her.

You walked back around the chair. You didn't want to think about it right now. You looked at the things sitting on the side table next to the chair. A little fan was blowing. You turned it off. You picked up a pill bottle. Prescription sleeping pills. You set it back down. There was a gun on the floor. You picked it up by the muzzle.

"Won't there be fingerprints?" Snow asked.

"They'll be on the grip and trigger," you replied.

"Hasn't been fired recently," Bigby said. "Maybe a week ago, or more."

You looked at Lawrence's body. The wound must've been from a bullet. You noticed a hole in the back of the chair. You peeked at it, but there was no sign of a bullet.

"Looking for this?" Bigby asked, pointing to the wall.

You peered closer. Sure enough, there was a bullet stuck in the wall. He pulled it out, and you handed him the gun. He pocketed both.

"Angle works if he shot himself," he remarked.

You hummed in agreement. You noticed a bloody knife on the floor. It was the same one the Mirror had shown you.

"Maybe we should've come here first," Bigby muttered.

"Maybe," you agreed.

You walked to what looked like a wardrobe. There was a gap at the top and sides, barely visible in the light of the TV. You pulled down on it, and it turned out to be a bed.

"The edge of the bed lines up with the edge of this blood here," Bigby said.

You looked. Now you were confused. Did Lawrence stab himself on the bed and then make his way to the armchair? Or did something else happen on the bed, and he shot himself in the chair? It took quite a bit to kill a Fable, so that would explain why the gun would've been fired a week ago or more.

Bigby picked up a note on the bed. "My dearest Faith, I never meant to hurt you, and I cannot endure knowing that I have. This was for the best. I'll see you again. Love, your devoted Lawrence."

You frowned. A suicide note. So he did shoot himself? How did he hurt Faith?

"Hopefully they're together now," Snow said.

"About all we can hope for at this point," Bigby muttered.

You dragged a hand down your face. This just kept getting messier and more confusing.

Bigby went to the closet. At least, you were assuming it was the closet this time, and not another bed. Just as he touched the handle, the doors flew open, and a figure jumped out and took off out the door.

"Stay here!" Bigby ordered. He ran after them.

You rolled your eyes. Fuck no, you weren't staying here. Snow seemed to agree as you took off after them.

Following Bigby was no easy task. The guy was fast. Neither you nor Snow caught up to him or the person who ran until you turned a corner and saw one guy hit Bigby in the back of the head, and then another guy started kicking him. 

You yelled at them, and they stopped. When they saw you and Snow running at them, they took off to a car parked nearby. You tried to get them before they got in, but they were too fast, and the smell of burned rubber burned your nostrils. You stopped and tried to catch your breath as you went back over to Snow.

You crouched next to Bigby and poked his cheek. He groaned.

"I kinda feel bad about having to wake you up," you said as his eyes opened. "You almost looked peaceful."

He sighed and covered his eyes. "Yup."

"Except for the fact that you're lying in a dirty alley."

"Yup."

"With what appears to be an open wound on the back of your head."

"Yup. Where'd they go?"

"Well, after the one guy hit you," Snow said. "And the other one finished kicking you…"

"That explains the ribs."

You winced. "They both ran to their car and drove off."

You stood. "Come on, Sunshine, up you get."

Bigby stood and adjusted his tie.

"Guess we're out of options," Snow said.

"Dee mentioned the Trip Trap," Bigby said.

"Then that's where we'll go. I'll call a cab."

She headed to the sidewalk. You started to follow her, but Bigby grabbed your hand. You looked back at him.

"You doing okay?" He asked.

You nodded. "Yeah."

He didn't look convinced. Honestly, you wouldn't have convinced yourself with that response. You gave his hand a squeeze. "Trust me, if I was about to lose it, you'd know."

"Would I?"

You blinked. "What?"

"You never told me about Faith. You said you and Lawrence never got along, that you and Faith had "drifted apart.""

You dropped his hand, hurt blooming in your chest. "Stop talking. I know where you're going with that, and you can throw that idea in the goddamn trash, Wolf. How dare--" Your voice cracked, and you stopped and swallowed hard. "I did _not_ kill Faith or Lawrence. I might be an asshole, but I would _never_ kill my sister or her husband. _Fuck you_ for even considering it."

You stormed away, blinking furiously and wiping at your eyes. You disregarded the regret on Bigby's face and you ignored him as he called after you.


	4. Chapter 4

The cab ride was tense. Traffic was slow, and the sun had set. You knew Snow could tell something had happened between you and Bigby. Sitting in this damn cab with him in between you and her, you began to wish you'd gotten your own cab.

You leaned your head against the window and closed your eyes. You were exhausted. If traffic was gonna continue at the rate it was going, maybe you could get in a nap.

That plan was foiled when Bigby tapped your left thigh. You resisted the urge to snap at him. Instead, you ignored him. He tapped you again. You shoved him off.

"Blue," he said softly.

Again, you ignored him. He poked your thigh this time. Hard. You slapped his hand this time, opened your eyes and side-eyed him. He wanted your attention, this was all you were giving him.

"I'm sorry."

You watched him for a moment, then looked out the window. You felt more than heard him sigh, and you had to bite the inside of your cheek to keep from smiling. You briefly wondered if the Big Bad Wolf knew he had perfected the art of the Puppy Dog Eyes.

You laid your hand on your thigh, palm up. When Bigby took it, you leaned your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes.

You ended up drifting in that weird state of consciousness where you're almost asleep, but you can still hear what's going on around you. You were almost certain you'd be unable to tell if you dreamt any of Bigby and Snow's quiet conversation. You zoned back in at the end.

"I'm full of surprises," Bigby said.

You straightened and rubbed your eyes. The cab slowed down to a stop. The Trip Trap was waiting.

"Yeah, maybe you two should take this one," Snow suggested, peering out the window.

You took note of the shady-looking people lingering in the alleys.

"Maybe we should," you agreed.

You opened the door and got out. You stretched, promised Snow you'd both be careful, and waved as the cab pulled away. You kinda wished you hadn't dozed--you felt more tired than before. Great.

You went inside the bar. Music was lightly playing, and it was empty except for Holly and...the guy from the line at the Business Office? They each looked at you and Bigby with disdain. You had a feeling this wasn't gonna go as smoothly as you wanted it to.

"What do you two want?" Holly asked.

"We're looking for the Woodsman," Bigby replied.

"Well, he's not here. So I guess you can go now."

"Look, I'm not gonna ask where he is now, okay?" Bigby sighed, approaching the bar. "I just wanna know the last time he was here, that's all."

Holly sneered. "Who?"

You crossed your arms and leaned against the pool table. Bigby put his hands on the bar, leaning over it just a tad. "I'm being nice, so try again."

"He hasn't been here for a few weeks," she sighed.

You narrowed your eyes when she glanced at the guy. He shook his head faintly.

"No--maybe--I don't know," she continued. "But yeah, he hasn't been here in a while if he's been here at all, which---I don't know."

"We'd just like some help," Bigby said. "Then we'll be out of here."

"Well I'd be willing to help you out of here. Would that help?"

You rolled your eyes. Bigby stepped away from the bar and started looking around. You followed suit. You noticed a large jar on the bar. You and Bigby stared at it in mutual disgust.

"Lemme solve the mystery for you," Holly said. "They're pickled eggs."

"No shit," you replied. "What I wanna know is why the fuck anyone would eat that shit."

You circled around the pool table, looking at the walls. Nothing incredibly remarkable there. By the time you completed your circuit, Bigby was at the other end of the counter.

He pointed to a half empty glass. "Who's is this?"

"Someone who left," Holly replied.

"Why didn't you dump it?"

"If you want a cleaner place feel free to get the fuck outta here," the guy grumbled.

"I'm sensing a very hostile tone from you," Bigby said. "Don't deny it. I'm good at picking up on this stuff."

You smirked. You looked at the photos hanging on the wall behind Holly. There was one of the Woodsman.

"He a regular?" You asked.

"Who?" Holly asked.

"The one with the bald head and the beard," you snapped. "Usually drunk as balls, carries around a bitch of an axe."

"Never seen him."

You sighed. God, these people tested your patience. Here you were, just trying to find the fucker who killed your sister, and these assholes did nothing but make things difficult for you and then turn around and blame you for shit not getting done. And it was so much worse for Bigby. You couldn't imagine what it must be like to be treated as shitty as he was. You had it easy in comparison.

You shared a look with Bigby. He sat down on the guy's left, and you sat on his right.

"Lotta stools in this place," the guy muttered.

"And yet here we are," you replied.

Holly came over and put her hands on the bar. "You two gonna order something, or are you just here to bother my customers?"

You and Bigby looked around at the practically empty place.

"You know what I mean," she grumbled.

"Gimme a Midas Gold," Bigby said.

"You want a lime?"

"Sure."

"I think they have some at the bar down the street."

You clapped three times. "Classy."

The guy chuckled.

"Think that's funny?" Bigby asked.

"Yup," he replied. "Think it's fuckin' hilarious."

Bigby shrugged. "It was alright."

"Y'know, Holly," you cut in. "Harboring a fugitive is only gonna get you in as much trouble as he's in. It won't end well."

Before you could continue, the rather distinct sound of a flushing toilet came from behind the door to the back. You watched the door, already knowing exactly who was gonna walk out. Just as you predicted, the Woodsman walked out. He started saying something about paper towels, but trailed off when he saw you and Bigby. You waved.

The only sound now was the music still coming through. He avoided eye contact as he sat down in front of the half empty glass, leaving just one empty seat between you and him.

"Saved your beer for you," Bigby said. "Holly wanted to clear it, but I said no, he'll be back. Now here you are."

"You and me've been goin' at it for hundreds of years," Woody mumbled. "I'm through fighting."

"Well Woody, that makes two of us. You're in luck," Bigby added to the guy. "I've decided to switch seats."

He stood and turned to go to Woody, but the guy put a hand on his chest.

"I just wanna talk," Bigby said. "This doesn't have to go like this."

"Maybe he don't wanna talk to you," the guy replied.

"Why don't we let him tell me that."

"It's okay, Gren," Woody said.

For a second you didn't think Gren would listen, but he took his hand off Bigby. Bigby went and sat between you and Woody. You stared at the counter, half convinced you would cold cock Woody if you looked at him too long.

"It's funny," Bigby said. "Just a minute ago, no one seemed to know who you were."

"Yeah, well everyone knows you," Woody replied. He seemed depressed. "The Big Bad Wolf. Now I'm the bad guy and you're sheriff. What kind of fuckin' world is that?"

"Come on, Woody. You know why I'm here."

"You wanna know what happened."

"Amongst other things, sure."

"It's funny, the shit you're willing to do for money. I'd walked past her place for weeks. She didn't look like it, but she had money. I could tell. And she wouldn't put up any kind of fight." He snorted. "I was gonna rob her. And the night I finally get up the nerve to do it, there you are. Fuckin' things up for me. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"What are you talking about exactly?" Bigby asked.

"Red Riding Hood," Woody replied. "Her grandmother. I was there to rob 'em, but when I showed up you were already there, lying in the bed. I only saved her 'cause I thought she might give me a reward. But she didn't give me shit. 'Cept a bunch of people thinkin' I'm something I ain't. I played along as long as I could. Only thing I managed to get from it was a free drink every now and again. Lotta good that did."

"We're not talking about Red Riding Hood, you dipshit," you snapped, finally looking at him. "We're talking about Faith, my sister. You know her, don't give me that look. You beat her this morning. She was murdered."

You saw Holly and Gren look over in your peripheral. Woody looked at you, panicking, and stood. "No, no, no, no, I was here, I swear."

"It doesn't look good when the girl you were just smackin' around shows up dead hours later," Bigby said.

"Bigby, Blue, listen, I'm a piece of shit, okay, I know that. I hit that girl, I did, and I shouldn't've, but I _didn't kill her_. You believe me right? They're gonna string me up. Like you said it looks fuckin' bad, it looks _really_ bad, but I _didn't do it._"

"He was here," Gren snapped. "That's the fuckin' truth."

"You see? You can't, they'll throw me down the Witching Well, that's what they'll do, and I didn't do it, you know that."

Gren slammed his glass down and stood.

"Hey, stop," Woody said. "This isn't what I want!"

"Shut the fuck up, Woody!" Gren shouted. "Shit just ain't about you. It's about this fuckin' lap dog and his toy."

You raised an eyebrow at "toy."

"They only come sniffing around this part of town when the rich fucks in the Woodlands need a shakedown. Ain't that right?"

"It's not like that," Bigby said. "There are problems with the way things go, I get it, but that's got nothing to do with what's happening here."

"Holly's sister goes missing, no one gives two shits about her. Waiting rooms, paperwork, and that bitch Snow White looking right past me then ushering me out the fuckin' door."

Bigby stood and got close to Gren. "I wouldn't call her that if I were you. It's happened before and it doesn't end well."

Gren smirked. "I didn't realize you were the bitch of the bitch."

Bigby clocked him. Gren went down and laughed. "That all you got?"

"Seemed to be enough," Bigby replied.

"Don't be so sure."

You stood and backed up a bit as Gren dropped his glamour. You cracked your knuckles. You could do with letting off some steam.

"Should've walked outta here when you had the chance," he said.

"C'mon, you're scaring the lady," Bigby replied.

"Don't worry about me," Holly replied, dropping her glamour as well.

Gren clocked Bigby, who tried to grab a beer mug sitting on the counter. Holly grabbed his hand and held it there. Gren grabbed him and slammed him against the ceiling fan. You jumped on Gren and held on to his arm, kicking him in the ribs. He threw you into the wall, and you hit it hard. You groaned.

Bigby ripped the ceiling fan off the ceiling and threw it at Gren, but Gren dodged and slammed Bigby into the floor. You got up and threw a glass at Gren's head. Gren grabbed you and threw you against the wall behind the pool table. You tried to get up, but then Bigby hit the same wall and dropped on top of you. He rolled off you and you both got up.

Grendel pushed the pool table toward you, and you both jumped and landed on it. You punched Gren in the face. It didn't even faze the fucker. He slammed you into the floor behind him. At this point you were pretty sure all your ribs would end up broken by the end of this. You pushed yourself up on your elbows. Grendel was dragging an unconscious Bigby over to the bar.

A very particular scratching sound made you grin. You stood. There were claw marks in the wooden floor. Holly and Woody gaped. Gren looked back, noticed the marks, and picked Bigby up and threw him against the wall behind you. Bigby caught himself. He turned and growled.

His eyes were yellow, and his stubble had grown into a full beard. Gren charged, and Bigby grabbed your arm, pulling you with him as he vaulted over Gren. Gren tumbled to the floor, and Bigby kicked him in the ribs. Gren got up and grabbed him, running to the wall. You jumped on his back just as he passed you and wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled back hard. Bigby stabbed his claws into Gren's shoulder, and Gren dropped him. You jumped off before he crashed into the wall.  
Bigby jumped on his back this time and scratched his face and throat. Gren started slamming Bigby back against the wall with the cue sticks. You grabbed one that fell down and stabbed Gren in the shoulder. He dropped to the floor, and Bigby jumped off him. Bigby stomped on Gren's knee.

"He's had enough!" Woody yelled.

You looked over at him and Holly, then at Gren, then at Bigby. You went over to the bar, picked up a fallen stool and set it upright. Then you sat down, wincing at the pain in your ribs. Bigby came up on your right.

"Whiskey," he growled.

Holly grabbed a bottle and a glass. She set the glass down, and Bigby took it and threw it. You kicked his leg--not too hard--when it almost hit you. He growled at you. You gave him a look and kicked him again. He turned back to Holly. "Double."

She set down a bigger glass and emptied the bottle. He drained it and set it down. His claws were gone, his eyes were brown instead of yellow, and his beard had disappeared back into stubble. You noticed Woody slowly backing up to the door.

"Don't even think about it," you snapped.

He stopped, then gestured to Gren. "Is this the kind of treatment I can expect if I let you take me in?"

"No," you replied. "But if you run, well..."

You heard the door open, and you turned to see who walked in. Anger bubbled in your chest as one of the guys who had attacked Bigby in the alley turned the corner.

"Alright, I got a hundred bucks for the first bloke who can tell me something about a girl named..." He trailed off as he noticed Gren. He looked around, and panic showed on his face when he saw you and Bigby.

The guy cursed and ran. You bolted off the stool and after him. He slammed the door in your face, knocking you flat on your back. You groaned and touched your nose. Your fingers came away red and sticky with blood. You cursed and stood. You ran out on to the sidewalk, but the guy was already gone.

The door opened, and you turned, wiping your nose with the hem of your shirt. Bigby came out with a cuffed Woody.

"Was that one of the Tweedles?" You asked.

"Dee, yeah," he replied.

"Motherfucker slammed the door in my fuckin' face," you grumbled.

"Doesn't look broken."

"It's not, but it still hurts like a bitch."  
\------------------------------------------  
It was late by the time you reached the Woodlands. Flashing cop car lights made the three of you pause. Bigby cuffed Woody to a post.

"Do anything stupid, and I'll throw you down the Witching Well myself," Bigby warned.

"Alright," Woody mumbled.

You shared a look with Bigby. Your heart was pounding. There were cop cars in front of the gate, and one officer ran out to vomit as you approached. You and Bigby ducked under the caution tape and passed them all, not paying attention to the one or two officers who went after you.

There a handful of officers standing over something on the front steps. You grabbed Bigby's hand and peered over their shoulders. You readied yourself for it to be another head.

It was Snow's.


	5. Chapter 5

You laid your head on the table in front of you. Of course the cops had taken you and Bigby in for questioning. You couldn't really blame them; they were just doing their jobs, and they had no idea what was going on. But it was annoying.

Especially when they left you alone in an interrogation room for hours.

You just wanted out of here. You wanted to get out of here, get Bigby and go find the piece of shit who killed Faith and Snow. You didn't have time to sit here and wait for the mundy police, not when there was a killer on the loose taking off Fables' heads.

The door opened. You didn't move.

"Blue."

"Oh, thank _God_," you groaned, shooting up from your chair. "Tell me we can go."

Bigby nodded.  
\------------------------------  
You had not expected Crane to be driving you and Bigby back to the Woodlands. This was probably the most awkward car ride you'd ever had.

Crane was driving, Bigby was in the shotgun seat, and you were sitting behind him. None of you spoke. God, you couldn't wait to get out.

The sun had risen while you'd been at the police station. The light only made you feel worse.

"We, uh, found the Woodsman chained up to a post last night," Crane said. "That was your doing, correct?"

"Yeah," Bigby replied.

"Well, thanks to the two of you there's been some hope in this dreadful affair. I'm confident he has some information on the slayings. Bluebeard's been interrogating him, and he's already at the point of confession."

"Yeah, good. I've got questions for him."

"Well, we all do."

You just couldn't wait to see Bluebeard. You were so looking forward to that shit show.

"I know what you two are thinking," Crane continued. "It's been one full night and a slice of morning, and I already miss her too. You know, I never get more homesick than when one of us dies. And now, for it to be Snow... I've never been good with these sorts of things. I just can't believe this is happening."

You bit your tongue. As if he really cared, with the way he treated Snow. Bigby stayed silent as well. Crane went on as if it didn't matter.

"Our stories used to be so simple. We had a beginning, a middle, and an end. But ever since we moved to this awful city, everything's gotten so confused. Did she, um, give any indication as to what she was thinking? When you last saw her, I mean."

"She said she wanted to change things," Bigby replied. "Make it easier for Fables to get help when they need it."

You closed your eyes. If you could handle yourself for Faith, you could damn well handle yourself for Snow.

"I don't know what else to say," Crane said. "We have to--have to put an end to this."

He finally pulled up in front of the Woodlands and parked. "It's been two murders in as many days. If we don't unearth our culprit, and soon, there will likely be another on our doorstep tonight."

You got out of the car. Bigby followed.

"We'll get it done," he said.

Crane got out. "Please. For Miss White."

"We got it," Bigby snapped. He slammed the door behind him. The window cracked.  
\-------------------------------  
You weren't a fan of the cells under the Woodlands. But then, you supposed that was the point. You called them the dungeons, because really, that's what they were. Looked like a dungeon, smelled like a dungeon, therefore in your book it was a dungeon.

When you, Bigby and Crane got down there, Woody, wrists strapped to a chair, was singing. Something about Sailor John and Annie. You had no idea. Bluebeard was there as well. You ignored each other.

"Why is he singing?" Crane asked.

"Some sort of pathetic defensive mechanism," Bluebeard replied. "Never mind that, though. He will tell us eventually who killed Snow White. I have too many methods to inspire him."

You were feeling inspired to kick Bluebeard in the balls.

"Bluebeard, I told you not to touch him until we returned," Crane grumbled.

"I didn't. Well, barely."

Crane gestured to the knife in Bluebeard's hand. "And yet you saw fit to retrieve a--"

"It's hardly been used," Bluebeard insisted. "Yet." He turned to Bigby. "Hello, Sheriff. Come to help? Because I think I have a secure handle on things."

"Bluebeard, what the hell are you doing here?" Bigby demanded.

"What does it look like?"

"I thought you were on vacation."

"Duty called."

You raised an eyebrow. "Duty? This isn't your job, honey. You don't even have a job."

Bluebeard scowled. "Oh, really?"

Woody started singing again, this time about a mountain boy and illegal alcohol. Bigby went over to him. You crossed your arms. Bluebeard and Crane backed up to the wall behind you.

"Woody," Bigby said.

Woody looked up. "That you, Bigby? I didn't kill that girl, Wolf. And I don't have a thing to tell you, so get me the fuck out of these straps."

"I know you know something," Bigby insisted. "And we can't let you go until you tell us exactly what that is. Snow White is dead."

"I'll tell you what I already told this blue dandy," Woody said, glaring at Bluebeard. "I didn't kill anybody. I can't tell anything."

"Can't or won't?" You asked. "We asked for you at the bar, and your friends acted like you weren't there. What's up with that?"

"Look, I got nothin' to say, so just let me go."

"Do you see now what I've been dealing with?" Bluebeard cut in.

"No one asked," you snapped.

Bigby pulled a photo out of his pocket. You caught a glimpse of it and blanched. It was a photo of Snow's head. He shoved it in Woody's face.

"Shit," Woody mumbled, looking away.

"Oh, no no no. Take a good fucking look, take a good, long look. Etch it into your _fucking memory._"

"I told you I have no goddamn clue what's going on! I didn't have nothin' to do with it!"

"You wanna tell us now why your friends covered for you?" Bigby asked, putting the photo away.

"They're scared of you, that's all there is to it," Woody snapped. "And they didn't want trouble for me. But I didn't kill nobody, alright, I didn't."

You glanced over your shoulder at Crane. "You said he was at the point of confession."

"He was!" Crane insisted. "He is!"

"He said, "Snow wasn't even supposed to be there"," Bluebeard said. "Now what exactly do you take that for? He knows what's happening!"

"Did you say that, Woody?" Bigby asked. "Where are you talking about? Where was she supposed to be? What was supposed to happen?"

"She was... nothin'," Woody replied. "Nothin' was supposed to happen. It's my own shit, alright, just forget it."

You pinched the bridge of your nose.

"Where's my stuff?" He asked. "I want a smoke, you took my smokes."

You and Bigby turned to Crane. Crane went and got a box, then dumped the contents out on to a tray sitting on the cot next to you. A bottle of alcohol and a pack of cigarettes tumbled out.

"We confiscated his belongings for the time being," he said. "This was all we could find on him, in any case. Nothing exceptional to speak of."

"Much like the man himself, I'd say," Bluebeard muttered.

Bigby picked up the bottle, then turned to Woody. "You ever sober?"

"Lemme get a swig of that," Woody replied.

You raised an eyebrow as Bigby complied and set the bottle back down.

"Thanks," Woody said.

"Don't you want to find out what happened to those girls?" Bluebeard demanded. "To Snow White?"

"Shut up," you growled. You turned to Woody. "What did you mean by "Snow wasn't supposed to be there"?"

"You've got it all wrong," Woody insisted. "I can't. Just leave it alone. I don't wanna talk about it. Just a waste of fuckin' time."

"We'll see if it's a waste of time after you tell us what you know."

"I didn't say Snow, okay? I never said that."

"Yes you did!" Bluebeard argued.

"She wasn't supposed to be there, she. I don't fucking know anything about Snow."

"Then who did you mean?" You asked. "Who wasn't supposed to be there?"

"I can't get into it."

You sighed. Bigby picked up the cigarettes and lit one. He offered it to Woody, and he took it.

"Thanks," Woody said. "Smoke and booze. Nowadays, I think that makes us old fashioned."

"I don't believe this," Bluebeard hissed.

"Back off, Bluebeard," Bigby snapped. "This isn't your job."

"Get your answers, or I'm taking over."

"Fuck _off_, you impatient little bitch," you hissed. "Woody, who wasn't supposed to be there?"

"The girl," Woody mumbled.

"What girl?"

"I can't--just let me go."

"Stop protecting whoever murdered these women," Bigby said. "I don't care what your friends have told you, you have to tell us what's going on."

"The girl, it was Faith, alright, Faith."

"What about Faith?" You growled.

"I was expecting someone else," Woody continued. "And this girl I didn't even know shows up."

"Who were you expecting then?"

"I don't know."

"Woody, you're seriously trying the sliver of patience I have left. I don't care if it's your personal shit. My sister is _dead_. Snow White is _dead_. So you're gonna tell us who you were expecting before I _lose my shit_."

"Lily," he said after a moment.

"Who's Lily?" You asked.

"Lily is Holly's sister."

Your jaw dropped. "Wait, Holly the bartender?"

"Yeah, her sister's a prostitute. I was a regular of hers, okay? I paid, she did her thing, and that's it. When Faith came to the door, it just set me off. Lily usually comped me if I didn't have cash. Faith didn't wanna give me a break. Just please, don't tell anyone. Gren and her, that whole bar, they just--they wouldn't understand."

Bluebeard began clapping. "Congratulations. We've been here for God knows how long, and what do we have to show for it? A thorough retelling of the Woodsman's sexual misadventures. This barbarian knows more than he's letting on. You can't continue to treat him like some stupid America waif!"

"He's talking, alright?" Bigby said. "Our methods work fine."

"No, they don't. They're not working at all. Snow White is dead. One of us! And you're going to let this ignorant shit walk out of here in one piece? Out of my way, I'll show you how it's done."

Bluebeard pulled Bigby out of his way and punched Woody in the stomach. You cracked your knuckles.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Crane demanded.

"Teaching him a lesson," Bluebeard replied. "Now pay attention."

He went to punch Woody again, but Bigby caught his arm and yanked him away. Bluebeard pushed Bigby, and Bigby punched him. Bluebeard grabbed Bigby and threw him against the wall. You grabbed the booze bottle off the cot and hit Bluebeard over the head with it. Glass rained down as the bottle shattered. Bluebeard whirled around, and you held jagged remains of the bottle’s neck to his throat.

The door opened. Heels clicked against the floor. All of you looked to the newcomer.

"What's going on here?" Snow demanded.

You dropped the rest of the bottle.  
\-------------------------------  
You rubbed your eyes as the elevator took you back down to the Business Office. Snow was alive. You and Bigby had gone up to the lobby with her in a state of shock that she didn't quite seem to understand. All the while she berated you two about how Woody was treated. You had wasted no time in firing back.

"First of all," you had said. "The only person in that cell who attacked the Woodsman was Bluebeard. Neither me nor Bigby did anything to him except grill him and offer him booze and cigarettes."

"Then why were you holding a broken bottle to Bluebeard's throat?" She had demanded, hands on her hips.

"Because he attacked us!" You had shouted. "We got Woody talking, Bluebeard didn't like how we did it. He hit Woody, Bigby pulled him away. Bluebeard hit Bigby, so I hit back with the bottle. Maybe next time ask what happened before you start a lecture."

You had stormed to the elevators and slammed the call button. "Glad to see you're alive, by the way, since we spent the whole night and half the morning thinking we'd found your decapitated head out front."

The elevator doors had opened, and you had stormed inside. You went to your apartment and changed into fresh clothes, making a pit stop in the bathroom to splash some water on your face.

Maybe you had been a bit harsh. But damn it, she could've asked what had happened first instead of ripping into you and Bigby. Snow could rip into you all she wanted, but Bigby had enough shit to deal with from people. You'd be damned if you didn't defend him whenever you had the chance.

You stormed out of the elevator now and stopped in front of the Business Office door. You took a few deep breaths. No use in continuing to be upset now. You went in.

Snow and Bigby were talking with Bufkin by her desk. Toad and TJ were over by the Mirror. You could tell TJ didn't want to be here. You didn't blame him. The kid had found a dead body, and now he was about to relive it telling you what happened. He was probably gonna need therapy for this at some point.

You looked away and caught Bigby watching you. You raised your eyebrows at him. He gestured to Toad and TJ, and you nodded. The two of you went over to them, and caught Toad using the Mirror. Toad glanced behind him, saw you, and, panicking, turned back to the Mirror.

"That's enough, Mirror! Vanish! _Cancel!_"

"Toad," Bigby said sharply. "What the hell are you doing?"

Toad turned around. "What? I wasn't touchin' nothing."

Snow came up next to Bigby. "What's going on?"

"What were you doing with the Mirror, Toad?" You asked.

"I thought maybe I'd catch you on the shitter," Toad replied.

You gave him an unimpressed look.

"I was just havin' a laugh," he insisted. "We been waitin' here a long time."

Alright, you'd give him that. You glanced at TJ. He was standing behind Toad, looking down at the ground. Your heart ached for him. You shared a look with Bigby and Snow. You and her crouched down in front of TJ. When Bigby didn't do the same, you nudged his leg. He rolled his eyes and crouched. You elbowed him.

"Go ahead, TJ," Snow prompted gently.

"I go swimming at night sometimes, in the river," TJ said after a minute. "I wasn't doing anything bad, I promise!"

"You're not in trouble, kiddo," you assured him. "Just tell us what happened."

"I was there, under the big blocks, and I heard noisy feet. And when I hear that, I'm supposed to go underwater, and stay real still, and quiet."

He glanced at Toad. Toad nodded. "That's right, son."

"Then I saw--I saw the lady. The lady fell in, but she didn't have her head on!" TJ cried. "I thought she was gonna pull me down too! 'Cause she had rocks to tied her feet, and she kept falling down in the dark parts."

"Cinderblocks tied to her ankles," Snow clarified quietly. She looked back to TJ. "Is there more, TJ?"

TJ hesitated. He looked up at Bigby. "Is it true you know when people are lying? I heard you could do that. That's why you're the sheriff."

Bigby glanced at you, then at TJ. "Yeah, part of my job is being able to tell when people are lying. I'm really good at it."

TJ looked down.

"Is there something else you wanna say?" You asked softly.

He looked up at Toad. "_Please_ don't be mad."

"What is it, TJ?" Snow asked.

He looked back down. "I--I didn't stay under the water."

"What?" Toad demanded.

TJ looked up at him pleadingly. "I know I'm supposed to, but I was scared, and I went to the top again. I couldn't help it!"

"I gave you very specific rules! You have to stay quiet and out of sight or bad things can happen!"

"You're not in trouble, TJ," Bigby said.

"Like hell he's not!" Toad argued.

"Not this time, Toad," you said sweetly.

"So you didn't stay underwater," Snow cut in.

"I don't know if anyone saw me," TJ continued. "But someone said "stop laughing." And then I was scared, and I went under for as long as I could."

"Wait, you heard someone?" Snow asked.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Toad added.

"I didn't wanna be in trouble," TJ replied.

"Did you hear someone laughing?" Bigby asked.

"No."

"And they said "stop laughing"?" You asked.

"They said--they said "stop laughing at me.""

You shared a look with Bigby. You looked back to TJ. "Okay, TJ."

"I'm sorry," TJ said. "After I came up again, there was no one there, and I ran home, that's all. I promise!" He looked at Toad. "I wanna go home."

"Okay, kiddo, you can go," you said.

You, Bigby and Snow stood. Toad began leading TJ to the door.

"Thank you, TJ," Snow said.

"You did a good job, kid," Bigby said.

TJ looked up at you. You gave him a small smile and nodded. When he and Toad were gone, Snow turned to you and Bigby. "That went about as well as I expected. You wanna go look at the body now?"

"Yeah," Bigby replied.

You loosed a breath and followed them to the Witching Well chamber. You never liked it down here. It was like a creepy basement, if creepy basements involved a creepy cave with hourglass shaped stone pillars holding up the roof. And the Witching Well there on your left. Corpses and Fabletown's worst criminals were dumped down it. No one knew what lied at the bottom, but everyone assumed it was the way to some kind of final resting place.

You shuddered just thinking about it and crossed your arms. Luckily, you weren't going near it today. Instead, you veered right to a stone slab, where the body and head lay. Bufkin was sitting next to the body.

"Wow," Snow breathed. "I didn't realize... I've never seen her face before now."

"You gonna be okay?" Bigby asked. "You don't have to stay."

"I want to stay," she insisted. "I'll be fine, it's just a little strange. The glamour is so effective it's...invasive, but just do what you need to do."

You and Bigby stepped closer, examining the body. You noticed a brooch pinned to the collar of the jacket and took it out.

"That's weird," she said, taking it. "I don't wear a brooch like that."

"Maybe it belonged to her," you suggested. "Might not have been part of the glamour."

"Looks like something from the Homelands." She showed it to Bufkin. "Bufkin, do you recognize these symbols?"

"No, nothing I've seen before," Bufkin said.

"The cut looks just like Faith's," you remarked. "Has Doctor Swineheart said anything about her?"

"He said he wanted to run more tests," Snow replied.

You frowned. What the hell did that mean, run more tests?

"If the neck wound is the same, there might be a ribbon in her mouth, too," Snow said.

You cringed a bit. You glanced at Bigby and switched places with him. No way in hell were you prying open her mouth. He did it instead, and you looked over his shoulder.

"No ribbon," you said. "So it's not exactly the same."

"Can you close her mouth?" Snow asked. "Please."

Bigby did so.

"Thanks."

You closed her eyes as well.

"She got your perfume right," Bigby said.

"How would she know--how do _you_ know what perfume I wear?" Snow asked.

"You can't fool this nose."

The corners of your lips twitched up.

"And I saw the bottle on your desk."

You looked further along the body, stopping when you noticed marks on her legs. You peered closer.

"There are track marks on her legs," you said.

"She used mundy drugs?" Snow asked.

"Looks like it. Pretty heavily. They only use their legs when they've used up the veins in their arms. Or if they're trying to hide it. Regardless, it's not a perfect match to your leg."

"Wait, if the glamour is supposed to make her look like me, shouldn't it be concealing things like track marks?" Snow asked. "That brooch, too. Why would it change everything else?"

"Cheap glamour?" You suggested.

"The witches upstairs know what they're doing, that's why they cost so much. Unless someone is making glamours illegally?"

"It's not technically illegal, Miss," Bufkin piped up. "It's not encouraged, for sure, but there aren't any laws specifically forbidding it."

"So there's some sort of black market for glamours?" Bigby asked.

"Makes sense," you said. "Get the right books and training and, theoretically, anyone could do it. God knows there's plenty of Fables who would go for it."

"Yet another thing to worry about," Snow sighed. "Black market or not, it's a pretty good match."

She leaned closer and pointed. "Look at that. The buttons aren't exact either. There's an extra one here."

Sure enough, there was another button on the coat.

"I wonder..." Bigby trailed off, looking at Snow.

"What?" She asked.

"Snow, do you mind if I, um, open her coat?"

"Just let me do it."

She made quick work of the coat. The shirt underneath came untucked from the skirt in on the side, revealing the bright pink waistband of lacy underwear.

"It's not you," you reminded her. "It's just a body."

Footsteps behind you made you look over your shoulder. Crane was here.

"Sorry, that, uh, took longer than expected," he said. "What have you found out?"

"She was using mundy drugs," Bigby replied. "Pretty heavily, too, judging by the track marks on her legs."

"Track marks? Isn't there--there are diseases..."

"I don't think she has to worry about that now," Snow said.

"No. No, of course not."

You turned back to the body. You noticed her fist was clenched around something. You nudged Bigby. "Her fist is clenched."

"So she fought back?" Snow asked.

You shook your head. "No marks on her knuckles."

"Maybe she was grabbing something," Bufkin suggested.

"Maybe," Snow agreed.

You began prying it open. "Only one way to find out."

"Jesus, Blue."

You inwardly cringed at the bones cracking as you worked. The hand opened up, revealing purple flower petals. Bigby picked them up.

"Lilac petals," you said, confused. Where the hell would she have gotten lilac petals from?

Bigby set them back in her hand and reached into one of the coat pockets. He pulled out a small bottle. A note was taped it reading "use this."

"What is that?" Crane asked.

"She had the perfume with her," Bigby replied. "Looks like someone picked it out for her."

"So someone gave her instructions," Snow said.

You nodded slowly as you reached into the other coat pocket. You pulled out some kind of trinket, pointed at one end and flat on the other. Some kind of design was carved into it, and it appeared to be carved into rings as well.

"A magic trinket?" You said. "Witches don't usually craft objects these days."

"I don't think it's wise to fool around with that," Crane warned. "It's some kind of black market magic, who knows what it could do? We should have it looked at. Just to make sure it isn't dangerous."

"God, would you shut up," you snapped. "No one fucking asked you."

He glared at you, but said nothing. You raised the object to your ear. Bigby leaned in to listen as well, and you shook it. Something inside rattled around.

"Something's inside," you said.

"How do we open it?" Snow asked.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with these rings."

You began turning the rings, trying to see if you could line them up. Fortunately, you could, and the rings revealed the image of a white deer.

"What the hell does this mean," you muttered.

The object clicked, and you quickly dropped it on to the stone. It opened as it fell, and a lock of hair and a rolled-up piece of paper fell out. Bigby picked up the paper and unrolled it. It was a photo of Snow. He handed it to her.

"Someone must've taken this from my apartment," she said, stunned. "I noticed it was missing, but I didn't think...this was the last picture I had of Rose and me. My sister and I don't talk much anymore."

She handed the photo back to Bigby. He set it down. You poked at the bit of hair.

"Let me guess," Snow said. "It's my hair."

"Yeah," Bigby confirmed.

The three of you stepped away. You opened your mouth to say something, but a green light emanated from behind you. You all whirled around.

"She's a troll?!" Bufkin exclaimed.

"Holy fuckballs Batman," you breathed.

"Holy shit," Bigby muttered.

She was, indeed, a troll. Which meant the tube was a glamour tube, and why she was glamoured to begin with. But not why she would be glamoured as Snow.

You noticed a tattoo on her ankle, and your heart sank. "Oh my God. She's Holly's sister. Lily. Look at her tattoo there."

You cursed and walked away a bit. You dragged a hand down your face. You had to tell Holly. Raised voices made you turn.

"It's too dangerous," Crane said. "Someone tried to kill you! Bigby, you can't let her go out there, you'd be putting her life at risk."

"Bigby is not in charge of me!" Snow snapped.

"He's in charge of this investigation!"

"If Snow wants to come with me, I'm not gonna stop her," Bigby said.

"But--"

"Shut up, Ichabod," you called.

They brushed past him, and the three of you left.  
\---------------------------------------------------  
God, you didn't want to do this. You didn't want to tell Holly her sister was dead.

When you, Bigby and Snow entered the bar, Holly wasn't alone. Gren was there, and so was your third least favorite person, Jack.

(Crane your second least favorite, Bluebeard was your absolute least favorite.)

It seemed Jack was the only one of them who hadn’t noticed your arrival.

"C'mon, Holly, I need entertainment," he complained. Finally noticing their expressions, he turned, saw the three of you, and smirked. "This'll do."

Holly put the nearest glasses and bottles away.

"Holly, you got a minute?" Bigby asked.

"Why?" She asked flatly.

"It's important," you said quietly.

"Miss White!" Jack cut in. "I heard you had kind of a strange morning."

You resisted the urge to deck him.

"It's been kind of a strange morning for everyone, I think," Snow replied.

He came up to Bigby and threw an arm around his shoulders. "Every time I see this guy he seems to lose weight. It's amazing, it really is. He loses weight and yet somehow keeps all the muscle."

You pinched the bridge of your nose. The guy had a death wish, and, God, if looks could kill, Bigby would've sent Jack to an early grave.

"Wolfie, my dear, how are you?" Jack asked.

You held back your snort at "wolfie." You were stealing that one to use at some point.

Bigby shrugged him off and stepped up to the bar. Jack, not one to be so easily deterred, followed. He leaned back against the bar top and crossed his arms.

"Because," he continued. "We were just talking about you. All of us. At the bar, here."

"We just need to talk to Holly," Bigby said. "Privately."

"Alright. Just give us a second first. I'm dying to hear about the body that came out of the East River this morning. It was a Fable, right? Oh, everyone knows," he added upon seeing your shocked expressions.

"The toad was just here," Gren said.

"He said it looked like Snow White," Jack said. He looked at Snow. "That true, love?"

"Yes, it's true," she confirmed.

He turned back to you and Bigby. "So we were just wondering why, of all the possible suspects in Fabletown, why would you arrest the poor ol' Woodsman, who you know had nothing to do with these murders? Bigby, Blue, come on, neither of you can be so dumb as to--"

"Jack, find the off button, _now_," Holly snapped.

"What is it with you two?" He demanded, turning on them. "You and Gren are all "let's get a posse together" when no one's around, but as soon as the Big Bad Wolf walks in, your tails go between your legs. Cat got your nerve? What happened?"

"I'm tired is what happened."

"Tired of what?"

"Of trouble, Jack. I'm sick and tired of trouble! I don't want any more."

"Jack," Bigby said sharply.

"What?" Jack demanded. "Look, two Fables are dead. And shit, Gren's sister--"

"Holly's sister," Gren corrected.

"Holly's sister has been missing for, what, a few days now? And we haven't heard one word about it from anyone."

"Right, okay, that's it for you, Jackie Boy," you said, grabbing him by the ear.

He cursed as you pulled him to the door. You opened it, threw him out, and slammed the door shut. You wiped your hands as you went back to the bar.

"Alright then," Holly said. "Actually, have there been any updates?"

You looked away.

"I don't know how to say this to you, Holly," Bigby said. "The woman we found in the river..."

You glanced back at her.

"Who was it?" She asked.

"You know who it was," Bigby said quietly.

Holly turned away. Gren slammed his fist in the counter. "_God fucking damn it!_ Of course the dear princess Snow fucking White is all safe and sound! Where were you when we reported this weeks ago?! Where are you when we ever fucking need you?!"

Holly pulled a glass and a bottle of whiskey. Grendel got up.

"If you'd given one ounce of a shit about her, about any of us, she might've been saved! She might've been cared for! She might've been--"

Glass shattering brought your attention back to Holly. She'd squeezed the glass and bottle so hard she'd shattered them.

"I'm sorry, Holly," Bigby said. "I'm sorry we found your sister this way, and I wish this had ended up better."

Holly just glared at him. Then she walked out around the bad and to a chair in the corner. You followed.

"Don't," she said. "Don't give me the spiel about how you can only imagine what it's like."

"I know what it's like actually," you replied.

She looked at you.

"The first woman, Faith, was my sister."

Her expression went from anger to shock.

"So when I say I know what it's like, that I know what you're going through," you continued. "I really do. And I'm sorry."

"Me too," she said after a moment.

Footsteps came up behind you, and Holly glared at whoever it was over your shoulder. "It should've been you. It should've been you, and it wasn't."

Snow went around you and held out the brooch you'd found on Lily. "We recovered this from her personal effects. I thought you might like to have it."

Another set of footsteps came up behind you. Bigby put a hand on your shoulder and squeezed. You relaxed a little.

Holly took the brooch. "I didn't know she still had this. This copper was from a dwarf mine. It's very rare, and very old."

"It's lovely," Snow replied.

"Gren," Holly said after a moment. "Take off for a bit, would you?"

"Are you sure?" Gren asked.

Holly looked at Snow, then you and Bigby, then at Gren. She nodded. Gren hesitated, then left. Holly stood and went back to the bar, pouring herself a glass of liquor.

"I don't know much about her life," she said. "Honestly, we didn't talk often."

She came back around and sat on a stool. "She was lost here, in the city. She just got swept away by it."

"Any idea why she'd be glamoured as Snow?" You asked.

"What? Oh God." She looked at Snow. "I'm sorry. That was probably about...she was hooking. To pay down debt. It ate me up to see her that way. Eventually the only people she owed were at her work. You know that shithole club, the Pudding N Pie. The owner, Georgie, with all his fuckin' fees, it's a crock of shit. It's how they kept her under their thumb, really."

"What do you know about him?" Bigby asked.

Holly shook her head.

"We can just go talk to him," Snow suggested. "We've got a lead. Maybe we can take it from here?"

"Is there anything we can do, Holly?" You asked.

"No," Holly replied. "No, I'm better off doing things alone. I don't need sympathy and I don't need charity."

"It's not charity," Snow argued. "It's looking out for our own."

"Is she...where is she?"

"She's at the Business Office, she's taken care of."

"I'm gonna have to go down there and get her. Fuck."

"Please, we can handle the funeral arrangements," Snow insisted.

"No, no, it's a kind of formality with trolls," Holly explained. "We burn our dead by sunrise, or, I don't know. Some old world shit will fuck your soul up."

"Of course," Bigby said.

"Let's go down to the Business Office and start making the necessary preparations, okay?" Snow suggested.

Holly nodded. She stood and made her way over to the door. Snow paused in front of you and Bigby. "That club?"

"We'll go down there now," Bigby said. "See what we can find from the owner."

Snow nodded, and she and Holly left. You dragged a hand down your face and blew out a breath. And, sensing Bigby was about to ask you the question you didn't want him to ask you right now, you headed for the door as well.

You wished "avoiding your feelings" was part of your job description.


	6. Chapter 6

The cab ride to the Pudding N Pie was quiet. It was dark out already, though it wasn't that late. You stared out the window, lost in your thoughts and not really seeing anything. All this shit had happened, and it had only been two--no, three days now. Three damn days since this whole thing started. It felt like weeks.

"Blue."

You blinked and looked over at Bigby. You got the feeling he'd been trying to get your attention for a minute. "Sorry, what?"

"When was the last time you got some sleep?" He asked, looking you over.

You squinted a bit, having to think about it. "Uh, I dozed a bit during the cab ride to the Trip Trap last night. Why?"

"You space out a lot when you're tired," he replied.

"I do?"

"Yeah."

"If I start doing that in the club, feel free to slap me."

Bigby snorted, prompting a tiny smile from you.

"You doing okay?" He asked.

You lied to a lot of people about a lot of things. Bigby was not one of those people. You told little white lies to him, ones he knew were bullshit but it wasn't a big deal. The first time you ever really truly lied to him was in the alley, when he asked how you were, and you said you were okay.

And with a tightening throat, you lied through your teeth again as you said, "I'm doing fine."

It was complete and utter horseshit. You were far from fine. You had mastered bottling up your emotions a long time ago, and it was a habit you simply didn't want to break. You hoped Bigby would leave it at that, and not ask again until this whole thing was over, because you did not want to lose it in a cab ride to a stripper club.

You also didn't want to let Bigby see you lose it, because it would be first time and you didn't know how to handle that, but you had yet to admit that to yourself.

He furrowed his brow and looked at you in that way of his, like he could see every part of you, and it both thrilled and terrified you that maybe he could, and your eyes were beginning to burn and you really wanted to just hide your face in his shoulder and cry for a while, because even when you were in real physical danger you always felt safe around him. He opened his mouth to speak, and the cab slowed to a stop. You glanced behind Bigby and saw the Pudding N Pie sign, the light from it bathing the sidewalk and Bigby in a neon glow.

You opened the door as quickly and smoothly as you could. You took a few deep breaths, trying not to rush around the back of the cab to the sidewalk as you willed your heartbeat to slow back down to a normal rate. You needed to _get a fucking grip_. You were about to enter a strip club, for fuck's sake, now was _not_ the time to be doing this. Again.

You knew he was worried about you. You'd be worried about you too. But you didn't wanna talk about it. Not now. Maybe not ever. Maybe when this whole thing was over, you'd deal with it your own way, by yourself, and be back to normal, and nothing would feel so different. Even if everything was different now with Faith gone.

You ignored the worried look Bigby gave you as a blonde woman came around from the side of the building, a pleasant smile on her face. "Sheriff, Blue. What a nice surprise. I'm not sure I've seen either of you here before. Is it business or pleasure?"

"Strictly business," you replied. "Where's Georgie?"

She gave you each a quick once-over, obviously not as happy to have you here as she claimed. "You're in luck, he's here. Come on."

She turned and unlocked the front door, pausing with her hand on the handle.

"I should warn you," she said. "Georgie does not like to be bothered while he's working. And he's in kind of a...mood, right now."

You gave a fake smile. "So am I."

She shrugged and opened the door, gesturing for the two of you to go first. She lead you down the entrance hall. Posters of both male and female strippers lined the walls.

"Welcome to the Pudding N Pie," she began. "Where we cater to the diverse tastes of the Fable community. Your pleasure is our pleasure. Your desires are our desires."

The three of you stopped in a doorway. You assumed it was the main area of the club. A bar on the left, a stage with a pole and a few couches in front of it on the right. A few booths lined the wall directly ahead. Music was blaring from the right, and you could see someone sitting on one of the couches. A female dancer was on the stage, clad in only a thong, dancing to the music. There was a man behind the bar, presumably stocking it.

"What do you think you're doing?" The guy on the couch shouted at the dancer. "You look like you're taking a shit! Who do you think is gonna want that? No one is gonna want that!"

You guessed he was Georgie. He seemed fun.

"Nice place," Bigby muttered.

"You do have a sense of humor," the woman said. "That's good. Good luck."

She turned and left. You and Bigby went up to Georgie. He glanced at you. "Oh, it's you two. We're closed!"

The woman stopped dancing. Georgie pointed at her. "Keep dancing, you! I didn't say stop!"

She rolled her eyes. Georgie cursed and turned off the boombox he had balanced on his leg. He pointed at her again. "You stay right there. Don't even think about sittin' down! We're not finished."

"Leave her alone, asshole," Bigby snapped.

The woman shot him an appreciative look.

"Sure," Georgie chuckled. "Whatever you say. What do you want then? You come here for a little taste? Tell you what, come back after midnight, maybe, I can hook you up. Or, knowing you, she's probably not quite your style. You'd prefer someone who can take a bit of a beating. Tell me, do you prefer a stationary target?" He slid his gaze to you. "Or one that will put up a fight?"

You sneered at him, fists clenched. Bigby took a step forward, looming over Georgie.

"Okay, alright, Sheriff, just fuckin' with you," Georgie said. "Look, I know why you're here."

"Are you sure?" Bigby growled.

"Listen Sheriff, around here we can't afford to wait for you and your swanky pals to take an interest. We have to look out for each other. When shit happens, I hear about it. Especially when it concerns my livelihood."

"In that case I assume you knew Lily was glamoured."

"Of course she was glamoured, you daft git! She was a troll."

"Glamoured to look like another Fable," you snapped.

"Yeah? Well so what? Who gives a toss?"

"You know, it's illegal to impersonate another Fable," Bigby said.

"It's _frowned on_," Georgie corrected.

"It's illegal as long as I don't like it," Bigby shot back. "The thirteenth floor would never have provided a glamour like that. It's strictly black market stuff."

"Oh, black market, is it? How exciting! This is exactly what I would expect from thugs like you. Storm in, throw around a bunch of accusations, try to scare people, but you've got fuck all to back it up."

Bigby pulled the photo of Snow Lily had used and showed it to Georgie. You hadn't noticed he'd taken it.

"Get that outta my face," Georgie muttered.

"This was part of the glamour we found on Lily's body," Bigby said. "Take a good look. She was impersonating Snow White. Why?"

"You've got this all wrong," Georgie insisted. "If Lily was doing a special glamour it wasn't for me! For fuck's sake, you think I want that kind of heat?"

"Who was she doing it for then?" You asked.

"She had clients, Blue. Maybe one of them was into it. Lot of fucked up people in Fabletown."

"Like who?"

"Try looking in a mirror."

"Only if you do the same."

Georgie turned the boombox back on. Music blared again, and you stepped forward. Georgie stood. "You gonna hit me?"

"Don't tempt me," you warned.

He pulled his hand back, and you assumed he would've tried to hit you if he didn't stumble backwards and knock the boombox down. It fell to the floor, and the music stopped immediately. He cursed and turned to the woman.

"You!" He shouted. "Get your sad fuckin' face where I can't see it!"

She glared at him and stepped off the stage. She went and ducked inside what you assumed was a dressing room.

"You proud of yourself?" Georgie demanded. "Proud of your little mess?"

Your answering smile was more of a show of teeth. "Very."

He cursed again and picked up the boombox. The man who'd been behind the bar came around, and Georgie shoved the boombox into his arms. "Fuck off, Hans."

Hans went back to the bar and set the boombox down on the counter.

"Hold on a minute," Bigby called. "Hans, is it?"

"Hans just cleans up and provides a little muscle when we need it," Georgie said. "He's not gonna know anything about the girls and their clients or any of that. Don't you two get it?"

He went over to the bar. You and Bigby followed him. "It's by design. "Discretion is our guarantee", right? And the way we guarantee that is that no one knows anything they don't have to know. Including me. I cover my eyes and take my cut. End of story."

"Why not just look it up?" Hans suggested.

"What?" You asked.

"Isn't there a little book with all the stuff about the girls and all that written in it?"

"You're a fuckin' moron!" Georgie snapped.

"Show me," you said.

"There is no book," Georgie said. He picked up a bat off the counter and pointed it at Hans. "And as for you, Hans, we need to work on your communication skills, and I've a fairly good idea where to start."

Bigby took the bat from him. He looked down at it, then at you. He held it out to you. You grinned and took it. This was gonna be fun. You studied it for a moment, ignoring Georgie's protests. It was a simple baseball bat that had been cut in half down to the handle so it was flat on one side. The words "CROWD CONTROL" were painted on the flat side in red.

You slowly made your way around the bar, nudging off each glass on the counter, until you came to the boombox. You stopped and looked at Georgie.

"Go ahead," he laughed. "Do what comes naturally."

You smashed the boombox. He cursed. "You unbelievable prick!"

You backed him up to the cigarette machine. "Give me the book Hans is talking about."

"Hans is confused," Georgie insisted. "Again."

He went behind the bar. You followed. You looked at the TV, then to him.

"Don't even think about it," he warned.

"I won't think about it, pinky promise," you replied.

Maintaining eye contact with him, you smashed the TV.

"I said I wouldn't think about it. I didn't say I wouldn't do it."

You backed him up until you came next to a keg. You eyed it.

"Don't touch that," he snapped. "That's got nothing to do with you."

"Give me that book," you said lowly.

"I'm sorry, Blue, but there's no magic book with everything you want to know jotted down inside. I sincerely wish there was. Maybe it'd get you off my back."

You looked back at the keg, preparing to smash it, when something under it caught your eye. You kicked the keg over and out of the way.

"What's in this floor safe?" You asked.

"Dunno," Georgie replied. "It was there when we moved in. I don't have a key to it."

He walked around you and over to the stage. "Will you two come on? I've got to open up in a couple hours!"

You leaned the bat over your shoulder, stalking up to him. You noticed Bigby seemed to be enjoying the show.

"Everyone's guilty!" Georgie continued. "We fuckin' get it!"

You backed him up past a neon Pudding N Pie sign. You stopped next to it.

"Jesus, you're killin' me! I'm beggin' you! I'll pay you!"

You smashed the sign. He cursed again. You noticed the DJ booth behind him and went up to it.

"C'mon, mate, leave it. There's nothin' there for you."

"You might wanna stand back," Bigby suggested.

You pulled back, ready to swing.

"Alright, alright!"

You paused. Georgie went to the booth and dug out a key. You followed him to the safe, dropping the bat on the floor. He pulled out a small book and shoved it against your chest. You took it, opened it and set it down on the counter. The pages were formatted in the style of an itinerary. Letters and names and numbers were scribbled in the spaces.

Bigby came up next to you. You nudged him and pointed to Lily's last entry. She'd scheduled an appointment with "Mr. Smith". The number 207 was written next to it.

"What's 207?" Bigby asked. "Room number?"

"I don't fuckin' know," Georgie grumbled. "Millimeters, maybe?"

"Don't bullshit me, Georgie," Bigby warned. "This is your book, your girls."

"I'm not their fuckin' secretary," Georgie snapped. "I give them a stage, I give them music, I give them an erotic venue to attract and retain clients, but let's be clear on somethin': the girls make the arrangements with their clients. Not me, the girls. They're the ones with the Mr. Smiths, and the Joneses, and the Mr. X types. Whatever happens outside the club, that's on them."

Bigby pocketed the book. You noticed the woman from the stage watching from behind a cracked door. As soon as she saw you looking, she ducked back inside the room. Georgie pulled out a phone and started dialing.

"Now I've had quite enough of you two and your bullying," he said. "Excuse me while I call your superiors to make a complaint."

You rolled your eyes. You and Bigby went inside the room with the cracked open door. It was a dressing room, like you'd figured. The same posters that had lined the walls of the entrance hall were plastered on the dressing room walls as well. There was a wall of cubby holes on your left. You read the names scrawled on the labels of each one, stopping when you saw Faith's.

Inside was a jewelry box and makeup case. Both were broken open, though you didn't see a lock on either object. There was nothing inside them, either. And, given that you almost stepped in it when you walked in, makeup products had been dumped on the floor.   
There was lipstick, lipgloss, a compact and some glitter. You noticed a note crumpled up next to it and picked it up, smoothing out the creases as you read it out loud.

"Faith, thanks for covering for me tonight. Let's talk before you go over to the apartment. Lily."

You folded it up. There was an empty cubby next to Faith's labeled "Lily", so you put it there. The note matched with what the Woodsman said.

You followed Bigby around the cubbies. The woman was sitting in front of the vanity, dressed.

"I heard you out there," she said. "I don't remember ever seeing either of you here before."

"We're here now," you replied.

She gave a tiny smile and turned back to the mirror. Bigby leaned back against the wall behind her. You crossed your arms and leaned against the cubbies. Try as you might, you couldn't figure out who she was.

"You're trying to place me," she said, looking at you both through the mirror. "They used to call me the Little Mermaid."

Your eyebrows went up of their own accord.

"You have legs," Bigby said. "That a glamour?"

She looked down. "No, they're real. Do you like them? They cost me a lot."

You scratched the back of your neck.

"My name is Nerissa," she added.

"Well, Nerissa, we've got some questions," Bigby replied.

"Of course you do. I don't have answers. You'll have to find those yourself."

"Does the number 207 mean anything to you?" You asked. "Is it a room number?"

"We can't talk about work," Nerissa said quietly.

"This is a murder case," Bigby said.

"I mean _can't_. These lips are sealed. Discretion is our guarantee."

The Mirror had said that when you tried to look for Faith. And Bigby said Faith had said to him as well.

"People keep using those phrases," Bigby said. "What does it mean?"

Nerissa shook her head sadly. Bigby went up to her, slamming the book down on the vanity. He pointed. "This is what we need to know about. This is Lily's last entry. Who's Mr. Smith? Where's room 207?"

She closed her eyes. "These lips..." She stopped. Then she opened her eyes and looked between Bigby and you. "Sheriff Wolf, Blue, would you like to make an appointment with me?"

She said it so carefully, it gave you the feeling she was trying to help. "What do we have to do?"

Nerissa grabbed a pen and made an entry in the book. "I need a hundred and fifty. It's not good to be short."

Bigby reached into his back pocket, and when it took him too long to pull out the cash, you pulled out your own and gave it to her. She took it and stood. "Wait here."

She left the room. You peered around the cubbies and watched her talk to Georgie. You ducked back out of sight when she started coming back. She handed you a room key to room 204 at the Open Arms.

"Not 207?" Bigby asked.

"You'll figure something out," she replied. "Enjoy your stay. I hope you find what you're looking for."

You got the sense there was more to that last sentence than Nerissa could say.

You and Bigby left the club. You breathed in the night air, almost basking in it. The air in the club had been full of stale cigarette smoke and alcohol and hints of perfume. You hadn't realized how obnoxious the mix was until you were back outside.

The hotel was two buildings down from the club. As you and Bigby came up to it, a cop and a hooker came out. You passed them and went inside.

The inside of the Open Arms gave you the feeling that it would've been shut down by now if it wasn't a hook up spot. Bigby lit a cigarette and scoffed at the vending machine.

"What?" You asked.

"That shit'll kill you," he muttered.

You looked at the machine. It offered soda. You snorted. "Says the guy smoking a cigarette."

He huffed out a laugh. You went to the front desk and rang the bell. A visor was pulled about halfway down, so you couldn't see in unless you crouched. Unless you decided to hop in, the only other way back there was through a door on the side. A door opened behind the desk, and footsteps approached.

"Want it by the hour or for the whole night?" They asked.

They peeked below the visor, and your jaw dropped. "_Beauty?_"

Beauty lifted the visor and crossed her arms. "I work here, okay? I work the front desk. It's to help pay rent. I know I should've told somebody, but Beast would lose his mind if either of you knew. Beast is a proud man. He wants to do right by me and he just couldn't handle it if he knew I had to do _this_ so we don't get evicted."

"Your secret's safe with me," Bigby said.

You nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," she said. "So what're you two doing here?"

You held up the room key. She looked between the two of you, eyebrows raising. "Oh, you have a key."

"Someone else was murdered last night," you said, hastily shoving the key back in your pocket.

"I heard."

"The victim was someone who worked at the Pudding N Pie. Lily. She ever come around here?"

"Oh, yes, the, uh, the troll. I did see her. I mean, we never really spoke. She came off a tad intimidating."

"You ever see her with someone here, like on a job?"

Beauty shrugged. "Sometimes, but nobody I've recognized. I haven't worked here that long, though."

"What about a room register?" Bigby asked, dropping his cigarette and crushing it under his shoe. "Or someone named Mr. Smith?"

"That's all we get here are Smiths and Joneses and Johnsons," Beauty said. "I think the last ones are jokes."

"Have you seen Snow White down here, or maybe someone glamoured as her?"

"You know, it's funny. I did see someone who I thought looked a lot like her. But she didn't say anything when she saw me, even though she knew I saw her. I just assumed it wasn't Snow and went about my business."

You chewed your cheek for a moment. "Ever see someone named Faith? Or maybe hear that name?"

"I might have, I don't know. By the end of the night it's kind of a blur with all the names--Tara, Brandy, Amber, Heather. Sorry."

You nodded and turned to go upstairs.

"Wait," Beauty said, coming out the side door. "It'll be better if anyone sees you that they at least see you with me, so they know I didn't just let you wander around by yourself."

You let her go in front of you as you went upstairs.

"Just be ready to act like I'm trying to kick you out," she added.

"That won't be hard," Bigby replied.

You snorted. Upstairs was a hallway of decent length, with doors on either side going all the way down. There was one door at the end of the hall. If you paid attention, which you did your damndest not to, you could hear two people going at it in one of the rooms.

"I'm assuming you'll be filing some kind of official report or something," Beauty said. "Which is fine, it's just that, I was wondering if I need to be in it? I mean, it's not like Beast would ever see your report, it's just that..."

"The less paperwork we have to do, the better," you replied. "So don't worry about it."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

You nodded. You started making your way down the hall, looking at the numbers etched on the doors.

"You have keys to these rooms?" Bigby asked.

You went over to him.

"I thought you had a key," Beauty replied.

"Not to this one," you said.

"Hang on, guys, I can't just let you go into any room you want," she protested. "I mean, what if someone's in there?"

"We're investigating a murder, Beauty, we gotta check out everything," you insisted. "Even the smallest things might be significant."

"I guess," she mumbled.

She pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. You took a deep breath, preparing yourself for what might be on the other side. Bigby slowly opened it. Moans echoed out into the hallway, but they quickly turned into screams and curses as Bigby stuck his head in. He quickly shut the door, apologizing. You backed away and covered your mouth, trying desperately not to laugh at the look of horror on his face.

"What the hell?!" Beauty demanded. "It's not funny!"

You uncovered your mouth and nodded, trying to repress the smile threatening to come out. "You're right, you're right, walking in on two strangers having sex is not funny. Bigby's face, on the other hand," you added, ignoring the dirty look he shot you. "Was fucking hilarious."

She glared at the two of you for a moment, but didn't reply. Bigby rolled his eyes at you. Chuckling, you went looking back down the hall. You stopped in front of the door at the end of the hall. The number 207 was etched into it. You looked over your shoulder at Bigby and gestured for him to come here.

"Found it," you said.

"Found what?" Beauty asked, coming up behind you.

"The room we need," Bigby replied.

"Oh no, I am _not_ letting you two in there, not after what just happened," she snapped.

"Beauty--"

"No!"

"This is the room Lily was in," you hissed.

She glared at you for a moment, then shoved her way between you and stuck her key in. There was no click.

"That's weird," she said. "This key is supposed to open every room in the building, but it's not working."

"Beauty?"

You blinked and turned around as Bigby cursed. Beast was standing at the end of the hall.

"Bigby? Blue? How could you do this to me?"

"No, sweetie, no, wait a minute!" Beauty said.

Yeah, wait a minute.

"How could you do this? We've been together through everything! I took care of you! I lov--"

"It's not what you think, please!"

"Hang on, you don't think--" you started.

"You're cheating on me!" Beast ignored you. "With them?

Oh God.

"No, Beast, I promise I'm not!" Beauty insisted. "I'm helping them, that's all!"

Beast's eyes went red. "I'll bet! I'm sure you help each other just great! I know what this place is!"

"This is a murder investigation," Bigby said.

"Stop lying to me! What the fuck is wrong with you two?! She's my wife!"

"Beast, listen to me," Beauty pleaded. "There's nothing going on!"

Beast grabbed Bigby by his shirt. "I guess I finally see you for who you are!"

You put your hand on Beast's wrist, glaring at him. "Let him go and listen to your wife, you idiot."

Beast let go of Bigby and punched you. Your head snapped back, blood squirting out of your nose as you cursed. Bigby punched him in the stomach, making him bend over. You wiped your nose.

"Knock it off!" You snapped.

Beast rushed you. You pulled Bigby out of the way, and Beast crashed through the door. The door fell to the ground, hinges completely fucked, and Beast fell with it. You stepped over him, Bigby right behind you, and cursed at what you saw.

Blood soaked the bed from the pillow down. Lilac petals--the same ones you'd found in Lily's hand--were strewn around the edges. The blood trailed off the foot of the bed and on to the floor, and seemed to just stop.

"What is this?" Beast demanded, standing.

"Look what you did to the door!" Beauty yelled at him. "You can't just act like this whenever you--"

"Stand back," he warned. "You don't wanna see this."

"What's going on?"

She pushed past him. She saw the bed and quickly turned away. "Oh my God."

"Don't touch anything," Bigby said.

"This is where Lily met her client last night," you added.

"Last night?" Beauty asked.

You nodded.

"I was on shift last night."

"On shift?" Beast asked.

"I'm not a prostitute, you idiot, I work the front desk."

"Do you remember who rented this room last night?" Bigby interrupted.

"I don't think anyone did, not last night," Beauty replied. "Maybe they have it long term, I don't know. How am I supposed to know?" She looked at the bed again. "How is that even possible? There's so much blood."

You turned to Beast. "Go lock the front door. Keep everyone out of the hallway. This is a crime scene, no one comes in here, okay?"

"But--"

"Just do what Blue says," Beauty cut him off. "I'll explain later, okay?"

Beast hesitated, but left the room. You blew out a breath and turned in a slow circle, looking around the room. You didn't want to search the bed just yet. You went to a small table in the corner of the room. A book was laying on it. You opened it.

The words were written in German. There was an illustration of Snow in a type of dress you hadn't seen in years on one of the pages. A sticky note was attached to it, with the word "beautiful" written on it in fancy handwriting.

"What is that?" Beauty asked.

"It's a book about Snow," you replied. "Or rather, the mundy version of her story."

Bigby came up next to you. You flipped the page. Another illustration showed Snow holding a red apple. Another sticky note was stuck to this one as well. This time whoever had written on it was questioning what kind of apple it was. You flipped the page again, and this time the illustration showed her laying inside a glass coffin with her eyes closed. The note on this one read "was she breathing?"

"Why is she in a glass coffin?" Beauty asked.

"This is where she's in a deep sleep, but they think she's dead," you replied.

Bigby picked up a cigarette that had been left in an ashtray next to the book. He sniffed it. "It's a Huff and Puff."

"And here I thought we were the only ones who smoked those," you said.

"Apparently not."

You looked at the desk next to the table. There was a bottle of wine sitting on it. It looked vaguely familiar. You went around Bigby to the closet. He picked something up off the desk; looked like a cassette tape. You opened the closet. A dress was inside, the front was torn, and the rest of it looked like it had seen better days.

"Someone's been rough this dress," you said. "It's torn."

Bigby peeked around the closet door.

"Oh no," Beauty said. "She must've been wearing it. He killed her, and then he took it back off!"

"No, there's no blood on it," Bigby said. "It must've been torn some _other_ time."

You tilted your head, staring at the dress. Bigby raised an eyebrow at you. "What're you thinking?"

"I'm thinking it looks almost exactly like the dress in the book," you replied. "I'm thinking he was dressing Lily up in it to recreate the Snow from the book."

He looked back at the dress, nodding slowly.

"You're right, it's the same dress," Beauty agreed. "I guess he wanted to get the details right. God, roleplaying as a person who really exists, who we know--that's just weird."

"Is there anything else you can think of from last night?" You asked, turning to her. "Anything stick out in your mind?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, no. It just seemed like every other night does. That's what's bothering me. From now on I'll just be down there imagining this."

You felt bad for her. By now you had gotten used to seeing bloody crime scenes, but Beauty didn't see them half as often. And to have been just one floor below while a murder was taking place? God.

You joined Bigby in front of the bed. You supposed it was time to take a look at it.

"Looks like she was lying down when she was killed," you said. "Flowers were already here."

"How do you know that?" Beauty asked.

"Blood pattern. Also I'd say she was dragged off the foot of the bed, there," you added, pointing to where the trail ended on the floor.

"It looks like Snow's coffin from the book," Bigby said. "He's reenacted the scene, with her lying here surrounded by flowers."

You cursed under your breath. Whoever this prick was, he had a hell of a creepy obsession. Bigby went to the nightstand between the bed and the wall. There was a radio with a built-in cassette player sitting on it. He put the cassette from the desk inside and played.

If you hadn't been uncomfortable before, you sure as hell were now. Classical music and chirping birds poured from the speakers. In this context it was the most unnerving music you'd heard.

"I think I heard this," Beauty said. "Last night. It was playing pretty loudly for a while, then stopped in the middle. I didn't think twice about it at the time. I mean, you hear all kinds of things around here, and I guess I've already gotten used to blocking them out."

"Could've covered up the sound of the murder," you said.

Bigby nodded. He turned and paused, looking at the ground. He crouched and picked up a red apple.

"Is there a bite taken out of it?" You asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "Like in Snow's story."

You massaged your temples. "So he put Lily in a Snow dress, had her take a bite of the apple and lay in the bed like in the book, but when it's time to wake her up..."

"Yeah."

"I hope you're just about through," Beauty said. "I don't really wanna stay in here any longer."

You sighed. Bigby set the apple down and pulled something out from under the rug. He went over to the desk, and you followed. He was holding an envelope. He opened it and pulled a picture of Snow.

"Are those pictures of the dead girl?" Beauty asked, coming over.

He pulled out another one. "Not all of them. I'm in this one, it was taken last winter."

Both him and Snow were in the photo in winter coats.

"Oh no," Beauty said. "This kind of stalking, it doesn't just stop by itself. Trust me, I know about this firsthand. He'll keep trying to get closer and closer."

"His stand-in for Snow is gone now," Bigby said.

"So the next step closer..." The words died on your tongue when he pulled the next photo out.

Lily was laying on the bed, glamoured as Snow, in the middle of the roleplay. A man was leaning over her, creeping his hand up under her skirt, a man you all knew.

"Oh my God," you breathed. "It's Crane."


	7. Chapter 7

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

You didn't know what to think. Well, that wasn't true, you knew what to think, but you didn't know what to do. You looked at Bigby.  
If there was one thing to be made absolutely clear, it was there you were not afraid of Bigby. You never could be. But the look on his face suddenly made you glad Crane wasn't here in this moment, because you were pretty sure he'd be dead.

Not that you would mind.

"_That motherfucking piece of shit._"

You blinked. Bigby was leaving the room. You and Beauty followed him down the hall and downstairs. He started dialing the payphone on the wall.

"What's going on?" Beast asked.

"Crane's the killer," Bigby said.

"_What?_ Ichabod Crane? How do you know?"

Bigby cursed. You glanced at him then looked at Beast. "Crane's been--"

Bigby slammed the phone back in place so hard the whole thing almost fell off the wall. It made the rest of you jump. You cursed.

"Will someone please explain this to me?" Beast demanded.

Bigby whirled around. "That perverted little fucker might be after Snow. I need to find her right now."

"Where did you see her last?" Beauty asked. "Did she say where she was going?"

"She took Holly to the Business Office to prepare for the funeral," you replied.

"Lily's funeral?" Beast asked.

"Yeah."

"I was just at the Trip Trap, and I heard Gren telling some folks about a funeral at the Buckingham Bridge--"

"The Trip Trap?" Beauty interrupted. "Have you been drinking again?"

"Priorities," you snapped. "When?"

"Right now," Beast said. "They were on their way out."

You and Bigby rushed out of the hotel and started down the sidewalk. You began trying to flag down a cab. Beauty called after you. You ignored her. A cab finally pulled over for you. You opened the door and looked over your shoulder.

"Bigby!" You called.

He turned. You gestured rather vehemently to the cab. You got in the cab, and he joined you. You told the driver where you were heading, and the cab took off, leaving Beauty standing on the sidewalk.  
\---------------------  
The cab barely stopped before the two of you got out and pushed past the construction gate. You weaved around blockades and equipment until you reached a small clearing. Holly, Nerissa, Gren and the woman who let you into the club were sitting on benches. Snow was giving a speech. Bigby went to go up, but you caught his wrist. He gave you a look.

"I know," you whispered. "But let her finish. This is a funeral, Bigby, and Crane is clearly not here."

You didn't let go until he nodded. You both hung back, and you looked around while you waited. There was an offering table on your left. On it was a bottle of alcohol and three cards. Snow finished and stepped forward. You and Bigby met her halfway.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

Holly stood and glared. "No, not you two."

"Holly," Snow began.

"They weren't fucking invited!" Holly snapped. "They have no right to be here, not after what they did."

"Did what?" You asked.

"You threw my sister down the Witching Well! And you have the nerve to show your faces here? After you lie? After you promise me?"

"_What?_" You exclaimed at the same time Snow said, "That was Crane."

Oh dear God.

"Don't cover for them," Holly hissed. "Especially not him."

"We didn't do anything," you insisted.

"And why should I believe you?"

"Because I swear it on my sister's soul."

It went dead silent. Holly stared at you. You weren't sure if she believed you were telling the truth.

"We just need to talk to Snow," you said quietly.

"Oh really," Holly said dryly.

"_Yes_." You couldn't help raising your voice. "And we'll do it away from the ceremony. You won't even know we're here."

You were already walking away before she could respond. Snow followed you and Bigby until you were out of earshot.

"This better be wildly important," she said.

God, how in the fuck were you supposed to tell her? Hey Snow, Crane is obsessed with you and pays prostitutes to glamour themselves as you while he has sex with them. Oh, and he might be the murderer.

"Crane murdered Lily," Bigby said.

Well then. Straight to the point.

"_What?_"

"We followed a lead to this shithole motel, the Open Arms. Crane had a room there, and he's been taking prostitutes, or at the very least Lily, and making them look like you while he was...you know. The bed was covered in blood," he added. "I know it was him."

She turned away. "This is...I don't even know what to say right now. I really don't. I'm just trying everything I can to _not_ picture it."

She turned back around. "You're sure this is what happened? _Please_, don't confuse things."__

_ _"He's been taking photos, Snow," you said. "Lots of photos. Documenting his...visits."_ _

_ _"_God_. Look, let's go back to the Business Office. I doubt Crane's there at this hour, but we need to talk, and this isn't the place."_ _

_ _"Snow?"_ _

_ _The three of you turned. Nerissa was standing behind you._ _

_ _"I'm sorry, but Holly's asking for you," she said._ _

_ _"Are they starting the burn?" Snow asked._ _

_ _"Yes. Everyone who spoke should be present for this part. She's kind of distraught. You're not leaving yet, are you?"_ _

_ _Snow looked to you and Bigby. "Two minutes."_ _

_ _She walked away over to the others. Nerissa stayed behind and looked at you and Bigby. "How'd it go, at the motel? Did you find anything?"_ _

_ _"It was Crane's room," you replied quietly. "But you knew that already, didn't you?"_ _

_ _She looked away and nodded._ _

_ _"Nerissa!" The woman from the club called._ _

_ _"Coming!" Nerissa called back._ _

_ _She gave you and Bigby one last glance before walking away. You dragged a hand down your face, sighing through your nose._ _

_ _Something hard pressed against your back, making you freeze. The feeling of cold metal seeped through your shirt. You glanced to your left and caught a glimpse of a gun pressed against Bigby's back as well._ _

_ _"You know how this goes," Dee said. "The first thing in a visit. You say, "how do you do?""_ _

_ _"How do you do?" Dum repeated._ _

_ _"That way it's proper."_ _

_ _"Now is _really_ not the time for whatever shit you jag-offs are planning to do" Bigby growled._ _

_ _"Well isn't that the thing of it?" Dee asked. "Plans."_ _

_ _"Except it isn't our plans you should be concernin' yourselves with," Dum said, prodding your back. You clenched your fists._ _

_ _"We'll snip to the chase, for all's sakes. A little bird told us you're fittin' to go after Crane, and you see, we have an interest in that particular boy."_ _

_ _"So you leave Crane along, and we leave you alone."_ _

_ _Holly noticed what was going on, and at that moment you knew this was all about to go to shit. She began making her way over._ _

_ _"Brother," Dum warned._ _

_ _"Speak your minds," Dee said. "Fastly now."_ _

_ _"Just don't hurt anyone, Dee," Bigby said._ _

_ _"Doesn't sound like a yes to me," Dum remarked._ _

_ _"Always wanting to do things the fun way," Dee agreed._ _

_ _And of course everyone was here now. God, if they hadn't noticed, or if they had at least stayed back, you and Bigby could've done something by now. But now that there was a crowd, the chances of someone getting hurt just fucking skyrocketed._ _

_ _"Ladies, gentlemen, invertebrates," Dee began. "Please, rest easy, this is not--"_ _

_ _"What the hell is going on?" Gren demanded._ _

_ _"Very sorry to impose, but we only had a deal to work out with Bigby and Blue," Dee replied. "And we're unhappy to report that things did not go as smoothly as planned."_ _

_ _"What is he talking about?" Snow asked._ _

_ _"Never you mind that," Dum replied. "It ain't any of your--"_ _

_ _"What deal?" Gren cut him off._ _

_ _"Knock this shit _off_," you snapped._ _

_ _"They haven't exactly been good sports about this," Dee said._ _

_ _"Not making our lives any easier," Dum agreed._ _

_ _You and Bigby stepped away from them and turned to face them. As soon as you did, green light flashed behind you. You turned back around to see Holly and Gren had dropped their glamours._ _

_ _"You think you motherfuckers can come here uninvited?!" Gren yelled. "You think you can just fuckin' interrupt Lily's funeral?!"_ _

_ _Dee and Dum pointed their guns at them. You cursed and stepped between them, Bigby doing the same. Shit, shit _shit_._ _

_ _"Calm down, darling," Dee warned. "It's just a simple business transaction."_ _

_ _"You fuckin' freaks are not gonna get away with this," Holly growled._ _

_ _"Holly, don't move!" Snow warned._ _

_ _"Yeah, listen to your lady, love," Dee said._ _

_ _"Holly, please, it's not worth it," you said. "They'll leave on their own."_ _

_ _"Yeah, let's spare all the fuss. It's just a dead whore."_ _

_ _Son of a _bitch_._ _

_ _Gren shouted some threat at them, you weren't paying much attention to that. All you knew was Holly rushed at them, Bigby grabbed you and yanked you out of the way, and one of the Tweedles shot her. She collapsed, and Gren tackled the other Tweedle to the ground. Dee (at least you were pretty sure it was Dee, you understood now what Toad meant when he said you had to strip them to figure out who was who) aimed his gun at Gren. Bigby grabbed the gun and wrestled with him for a minute before knocking it out of his hand. You went to grab it when a gunshot rang out behind you._ _

_ _You whipped around. Dum had shot Gren, and Gren was down. You rushed at Dum, dodging two shots, and grabbed his gun. You struggled with him, and you went to kick him in the nuts when a shot rang out and searing pain went through your right leg. You screamed and dropped to your knees. Another shot came from behind you, and you whipped your head around._ _

_ _Bigby was sprawled on the ground, and you saw blood, and your heart caught in your throat, and you crawled over to him. The Tweedles took off. Snow raced to Holly's side. Bigby raised his head, and you sighed in relief and slumped down._ _

_ _Fuck.  
\---------------------  
Luckily for you, your leg was an easy fix. The bullet had only grazed the side of your lower leg. Still hurt like a bitch, though. Bigby had gotten shot in the shoulder. It hadn't taken Doctor Swineheart long to meet you, Bigby and Snow at the Business Office, which kind of surprised you given that he'd seen Holly and Gren first._ _

_ _He was patching Bigby up currently. You were sitting on the floor next to Bufkin, leg stretched out. The Mirror had been shattered, and you were trying to help him piece it back together._ _

_ _"I did as well as I could to take out the buckshot," Swineheart said. "But there's still some shards embedded in your shoulder. They'll eventually worm their way out, but until they do you're gonna be sore."_ _

_ _"Bigby, Doctor Swineheart was appointed Fabletown physician for a reason," Snow said._ _

_ _"It's okay. There's only one thing you need to take away from all this: take it easy."_ _

_ _You bit your cheek to keep from snorting. "Taking it easy" wasn't exactly in Bigby's vocabulary. Or yours, for that matter._ _

_ _"How's everyone else?" Bigby asked._ _

_ _"They're fine," Swineheart replied. "I had everyone that got wounded sent home. Holly refused to let me see where she lived, so I left her and Grendel back at the bar with a dose of juniper and spring water. They're titans, Bigby, they'll be fine."_ _

_ _He started packing up his bag. "Just remember what I said. The stitches won't hold up if you continue to act like you normally do. And uh, eat more chicken. Your blood pressure's through the proverbial roof."_ _

_ _"I'll try to," Bigby said._ _

_ _"Alright then. Very good." He headed for the door. "I'll leave you three to it then."_ _

_ _"So, to recap," Snow said once he was gone._ _

_ _"Crane watched me and Blue through the Mirror uncover his room at the Open Arms," Bigby replied. "Then he smashed it so we can't use it ourselves to find him."_ _

_ _"And we know this because Bufkin was drinking in the rafters," you added._ _

_ _"Once all the pieces are put back together, it'll be easy to catch Crane," Snow said. "So I guess that's the plan, currently."_ _

_ _"That's the plan?" Bigby asked. "Just wait for the Mirror?"_ _

_ _"It's really all we got right now, Sunshine," you said, raising an eyebrow at him. You gently set another shard in place._ _

_ _"What the hell is going on?" Snow sighed. "I don't know what the Tweedles get out of this, I don't know if Crane sent them, I don't know if--I mean, this might sound crazy, but do you really think Crane did this?"_ _

_ _"Crane's the killer," Bigby said. "And he sent the Tweedles to slow us down."_ _

_ _You frowned. You weren't so sure. Crane was a creepy little fucker, yeah, but you were having a hard time believing he was a murderer._ _

_ _"He was a conniver," Snow said. "A coward. A liar. And I'll always hate him for that, and I'll hate him for how he...held me in his thoughts. But murdering prostitutes?"_ _

_ _Bufkin yelped._ _

_ _"You good?" You asked._ _

_ _"Just cut myself on a piece of the glass, nothing to worry about," he assured you._ _

_ _"Everything okay over there?" Snow asked._ _

_ _You gave a thumbs up and set another shard in place. You tuned out the rest of the conversation, your focus now solely on fixing the Mirror. This shard went here, this one went here, that one went there--you hissed, hand shooting to the wound on your leg. You hoped to God you could walk on it, because just turning it the wrong way hurt. You'd have to stop by your apartment and grab some painkillers._ _

_ _You went to grab another shard. None were left. Satisfied and hopeful, you looked up at the Mirror. There was still an empty space. You looked around you, then, finding nothing, looked at Bufkin. He looked at you, mirroring your expression._ _

_ _Shit._ _

_ _"Uh, guys?" You called. "We've got a problem."_ _

_ _They walked over._ _

_ _"What do you mean?" Snow asked._ _

_ _"There's a missing shard," you replied. "We can't finish the Mirror."_ _

_ _"What do you mean, there's a missing shard?"_ _

_ _You threw your hands up. "_I mean_, there's a missing shard, Snow, what do you think I mean?"_ _

_ _"Crane must've taken it with him," Bigby growled._ _

_ _"I saw Crane pick something after he smashed it," Bufkin said. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize what it was until now."_ _

_ _You pat him on the shoulder. "It's not your fault."_ _

_ _"The Mirror can't work unless it's whole," Snow said._ _

_ _"Well, that's not entirely true," Bufkin pointed out._ _

_ _"Or what, Bufkin? We sit here and wait for it to fix itself? We have no idea how long that will take. We're just gonna have to do this the hard way."_ _

_ _"What exactly is the hard way?" Bigby asked._ _

_ _"We'll look through his things, his desk, everything. He had to have something behind that tells us we're he's going. He's a neat freak but he was never that smart."_ _

_ _Snow went to Crane's desk. You turned to Bufkin. "See anything else while you were up there?"_ _

_ _"Yes," he replied. "I saw him jump on the telephone before he left. He said he needed to see his witch, or that he would need to get to the witch for that, whoever that is."_ _

_ _"A witch, huh," Bigby said._ _

_ _Bufkin nodded. "It sounded like the one he got his Snow glamours from."_ _

_ _"It's not your fault, y'know," you said._ _

_ _"You mean it?" Bufkin asked softly._ _

_ _You nodded, offering him a small smile. "Yeah."_ _

_ _He seemed relieved, then turned back to the Mirror. "I'll just, uh, see what I can do about this."_ _

_ _"Okay."_ _

_ _You carefully bent your knee, wincing, and tried to stand. As soon as you put weight on your right leg, you hissed and stumbled back down. Your arms went up automatically to try and keep yourself balanced, and Bigby caught you. He pulled you up. You tested your leg, and this time you could put some weight on it._ _

_ _"You okay?" He asked._ _

_ _You nodded. "Yeah. Sore," you added when he gave you a look. "I'll get some painkillers from my place when we're done here."_ _

_ _You hobbled over to the desk, Bigby practically glued to your side, and leaned against it._ _

_ _"Bufkin said he overheard Crane call somebody before he left," you said, shifting until you were almost sitting on the desk. "It sounds like he was going to see his glamour witch."_ _

_ _"Wait, really?" Snow replied. "None of the thirteenth floor witches would allow that sort of thing. They must be somewhere in the city. It's something at least."_ _

_ _"Find anything?" Bigby asked._ _

_ _"No, but there's enough notes and stuff here to take all night."_ _

_ _You grabbed some papers and leafed through them. Mostly complaints from different Fables about the state of their homes. One of them was a particularly rude letter from Toad. You shook your head and set the papers back down. Bigby pulled something out of the inbox._ _

_ _"What's that?" You asked._ _

_ _"The key to his room at the Open Arms," he replied._ _

_ _"You still haven't told me what was in there," Snow said. "I want to know."_ _

_ _"A lot of blood and flowers," you said._ _

_ _"I keep thinking back," she said after a moment. "I keep replaying moments in my head, interactions with him, when he'd catch me in the elevator, or bump into me outside. There's only so much you can repress, you know?"_ _

_ _"You couldn't have known, Snow."_ _

_ _"No, I could've."_ _

_ _None of you said anything after that. Bigby tried to open the drawer, but it was locked, so he yanked it open. He pulled out a book and set it down. You slid off the desk and hobbled around it to get a better look. It was a book about the town's magical objects. Inside were pages and pages of dozens of different things. One was torn out._ _

_ _"There's a page here that's been torn out," Bigby said._ _

_ _"Bufkin, do you know what was here?" Snow called._ _

_ _Bufkin flew over and landed on the desk, peering at the book. "It's a ring, at least. Every magical item not retained in the armory is assigned to someone in Fabletown. It must be this witch he's going to see."_ _

_ _"Yeah, I only recently heard about this meeting. Why didn't you mention it before?"_ _

_ _"No one asked me."_ _

_ _"Bufkin!" You groaned._ _

_ _"And I'm hungover, I'm sorry! He set the meeting at two A.M. tonight."_ _

_ _The door flew open, and you groaned again as Bluebeard stormed in._ _

_ _"What's going on?" He demanded. "Is the Mirror fixed yet?"_ _

_ _The three of you met him halfway. You tried to hide your limp as much as you could._ _

_ _"Bluebeard, this isn't the time," Snow snapped._ _

_ _"Is the Mirror fixed or isn't it? You called me to--"_ _

_ _"I called you just to see if you knew where Crane could be, and I'm sorry I said anything more than that."_ _

_ _"Well you did, and I know. So can we find the full pervert or not?"_ _

_ _"This is none of your business," you snapped._ _

_ _"None of my business?" He repeated. "Crane's the murderer, he escaped, it seems he's foiled your every attempt at locating him, and now it's none of my business?"_ _

_ _"We don't know if he's the murderer," Snow said._ _

_ _"Of course he is!"_ _

_ _"Look, this just isn't the time. He took a piece of the Mirror so we can't use it."_ _

_ _"The only thing we know," Bufkin said, flying over. "Is that Crane's going to see a witch at two o'clock."_ _

_ _He noticed the glares you, Bigby and Snow threw at him and cringed._ _

_ _"A.M. or P.M.?" Bluebeard asked._ _

_ _"P.M.," you replied. "Now I don't know about you, but we'd like to get this done as quickly as possible, and we can't do that if you keep standing here giving us your unsolicited opinions on everything we do. So fuck off."_ _

_ _He sneered and pointed at you. "If I find Crane first, there will be nothing left for you to find." He headed for the door._ _

_ _"Keep telling yourself that," you called just as the door swung shut._ _

_ _You took a breath. "That should keep him busy for a while. Now what?"_ _

_ _"Since Lily used the glamours she'd have known who the witch was," Snow said. "And I don't think Holly's burned her things yet. There would probably be an address or a phone number or something."_ _

_ _"What about the Tweedles?" You asked. "There could be something at their office."_ _

_ _"It doesn't matter. After tonight they'd never go back there."_ _

_ _"Which would be even better because they wouldn't be there to hide their shit."_ _

_ _"Chances are we'll have to swing by both," Bigby said._ _

_ _"No, chances are you won't have time," Snow argued._ _

_ _Bigby looked at you, silently asking what you thought. You chewed your bottom lip. Yes, there might be something at the Tweedles' office. But Snow was right. It only made sense to go through Lily's things for an address or something._ _

_ _"There's a better chance of finding something with Lily's stuff," you finally said._ _

_ _"Then that's where we'll go first," Bigby said._ _

_ _"I'll check in with you later, then," Snow sighed.  
\---------------------  
You seriously hated yourself as you got out of the cab. You'd forgotten to stop and get painkillers before you left. Your leg fucking _ached_. You could walk, but you hoped to God you didn't have to try and run. And of course there were stairs in front of the Trip Trap's door. A small set, sure, but still hell for you._ _

_ _You paused in front of them. Bigby, already at the bottom, turned around and watched as you hobbled down one step at a time, gripping the railing for dear life._ _

_ _"Yeah yeah, I'm a moron, I know," you grumbled._ _

_ _He pulled a small bottle out of his back pocket. He handed it to you, and you almost broke out into song._ _

_ _"You're an angel," you exclaimed as you opened the bottle of painkillers._ _

_ _The slightly embarrassed expression that crossed his face as you gave him back the bottle made your heart do a thing. You weren't sure how to explain it, but it was a nice feeling. You took the pills dry, coughing a little as they left a bitter taste at the back of your throat._ _

_ _Rain started pouring down. You hoped it wasn't some sort of sign._ _

_ _Bigby knocked on the door. There was silence for a few seconds before Gren yelled from the other side that they were closed._ _

_ _"It's Blue and Bigby," you called, crossing your arms._ _

_ _Another beat of silence. Then the lock clicked and the door opened. You didn't have to ask to know that Gren was high as a kite. You could see Woody behind him, and you narrowed your eyes._ _

_ _"Hey, Woody, look who it is," Gren drawled._ _

_ _"Okay okay, before you get all huffy, it was Snow who let me go, alright," Woody said. "There wasn't no sense in me staying in jail, she said so herself."_ _

_ _"Calm your tits, Woody," you sighed. "We're not here for you."_ _

_ _"They're travelers," Gren slurred. "Weary travelers in search of some…hospitality, right?"_ _

_ _"Just what in the fuck is wrong with you?" Bigby asked._ _

_ _"Nothin's wrong with me. In fact, I'm in a good goddamn mood, so you should take advantage."_ _

_ _He stumbled away, leaving the door open. You and Bigby went in, closing the door behind you. Gren went around the back of the bar, and Woody sat down on a stool. You tried to hide your limp as much as you could as you sat on a stool._ _

_ _"I want a drink," Gren announced. "Anybody else want a drink?"_ _

_ _You raised your hand. Bigby gave you a look, and you stuck your tongue out at him._ _

_ _"Gren, Swineheart said you shouldn't you shouldn't mix it with--"_ _

_ _"You think I give a fuck what that fuckin' guy says?" Gren cut Woody off. "Or what you say?"_ _

_ _"Swineheart said Holly was here," you interrupted. "We need to talk to her."_ _

_ _"Holly's asleep in the back," Woody replied. "But you won't be able to wake. The doc gave them barmecidal ambrosia, for the pain."_ _

_ _"The deal is," Gren said as he pulled out four glasses. "If you resist going to sleep, like I am right now, it gives you a very, very, _very_ nice high."_ _

_ _"Clearly," you muttered._ _

_ _"And he said he shouldn't mix it with alcohol," Woody added._ _

_ _Gren set down a bottle of liquor. "Yes, he did, he certainly did, but lemme tell you somethin': I haven't felt this good in a long time, fat boy, and I feel like havin' a drink, okay?"_ _

_ _"Have you seen her sister's things?" Bigby asked. "What wasn't at the funeral?"_ _

_ _"I saw her come in with something," Woody replied. "But I didn't see where she put it."_ _

_ _"Haven't seen it," Gren said. He took a drink. "That funeral back there? That was a shitty fuckin' send-off for a pretty okay lady."_ _

_ _"Yeah," Woody sighed._ _

_ _"You weren't fuckin' there," Gren grumbled. "I'm talkin' to Bigby and Blue now, okay?" He glanced at the two of you. "Can't say you two being there helped things much."_ _

_ _"Gren, don't start nothin'," Woody warned._ _

_ _"Who's startin' somethin'?" He shot back. "I'm not. Whatever. I'm too out of it, to get into it."_ _

_ _He set a full glass down in front of you, then walked around the bar with a glass in each hand. "I wanna clear the air. We're all in this dungheap of a fuckin' shit town together, and we're gonna have a toast. All of us."_ _

_ _"Fellas, we're here for one thing," Bigby said. "To look through Lily's belongings, and leave. Now--"_ _

_ _"Yeah yeah," Gren cut him off. "I know, I know, and I wanna help you, okay, and I will, but first, indulge me. As a show of good faith, and after we'll all hunt and peck for Lily's shit or whatever."_ _

_ _"Gren, Bigby and Blue didn't come here to get loaded with you," Woody said._ _

_ _"I don't wanna get loaded with them," Gren insisted. "It's just a quick slug. Not gonna hurt anybody."_ _

_ _You and Bigby looked at each other. You shrugged and picked up your glass. Bigby took the one Gren was offering, and all four of you took a drink. You set your glass back down. "Alright, now help us look."_ _

_ _Gren dropped his glass. Woody stood. "Gren, the doc said you needed to rest."_ _

_ _Gren socked him in the face. Your eyes widened. Damn._ _

_ _"How many times you gonna fuckin' warn me about it?" He demanded. "You're not my fuckin' mother, so just get off my back!"_ _

_ _"I said I was sorry, alright!" Woody yelled. "I can't do anything about it, it's done!"_ _

_ _He pushed Gren. Gren caught his arms, and they started fighting. Bigby separated them. "Cut this shit out now, I don't care what it's about!"_ _

_ _"Oh, I forgot!" Gren exclaimed. "You two haven't heard the news! This walkin' lard cake was paying Holly's sister to let him fuck her! Behind all of our backs! And Holly had to find out going through all of her sister's shit! What fun that must've been! Trick after trick of this fat ass and Lily."_ _

_ _"I hadn't planned for it, alright!" Woody insisted. "And our thing, whatever it was, it wasn't a big deal!"_ _

_ _A look of panic crossed his face, and he looked between you and Bigby. "It wasn't! I never fucked her when she was Snow, and I didn't know nothin' about that."_ _

_ _"No, but you knew Holly would flip out," Gren snapped. "And you knew for a damn good fuckin' reason!"_ _

_ _"You know what? Fuck this. I don't need this shit."_ _

_ _Woody turned._ _

_ _"Oh yeah, now you're teary-eyed. You were always such a lowlife, I don't know why I never realized it until now."_ _

_ _"God, Gren, leave him alone now," you said. "You got it out of your system, now move on."_ _

_ _Woody glanced over his shoulder at you. You gave him a sympathetic look, and he left. Gren sat down._ _

_ _"I dunno where Lily's shit is," he mumbled. "Check Holly's room, I dunno. But I wouldn't wake her if I were you. Sleepwalkers and trolls, I think that's the rule. Maybe ogres, too."_ _

_ _"I thought you said you were gonna help us," Bigby reminded him._ _

_ _"Actually Bigby, if you'll excuse me it seems I'm gonna pass out."_ _

_ _And with that, his head hit the counter with a soft thud. You sighed and stood._ _

_ _"Maybe you should sit back down," Bigby suggested. "Keep weight off your leg."_ _

_ _You raised an eyebrow as you made your way past Gren. "If I can walk, I can stand."_ _

_ _"Have the painkillers kicked in yet?"_ _

_ _"No."_ _

_ _He raised an eyebrow at you, and you knew he didn't buy that bullshit answer. "Sit down or I'll make you."_ _

_ _You snorted. "And how would you make me, Sunshine?"_ _

_ _Bigby grabbed you by your waist and lifted you up. You let out a startled yelp and gripped his shoulders as he went around the back of the bar. He set you down on the counter and gave you a smug look. You glared at him and crossed your arms._ _

_ _"Not fair," you grumbled._ _

_ _"I know," he replied, patting your thigh._ _

_ _He turned and went in the back. You sighed and drummed your fingers on the counter. Sometimes you wished you knew when to keep your mouth shut._ _

_ _You contemplated lifting yourself off the bar, but you knew the landing would be too hard on your bad leg. Which was exactly why Bigby set you up here in the first place, the cheeky bastard._ _

_ _You heard Holly's voice drift from the back room, and you froze. Shit. After a moment you didn't hear her anymore. You figured she went back to sleep, assuming she wasn't a sleep-talker._ _

_ _The phone rang, and you jumped. You leaned over to reach it and answered. "We're closed."_ _

_ _"Blue?" Snow asked as Bigby came back out._ _

_ _"Oh, hi. Sorry."_ _

_ _You put the phone on speaker._ _

_ _"It's fine. Just wanted to see how it was going. Did you find anything?"_ _

_ _"Just an address book with her clients' initials," Bigby replied. "Not sure which one is the witch though."_ _

_ _"You gonna head to the Tweedles' now?" She asked._ _

_ _"Yeah, we'll see what we can find there."_ _

_ _"Sounds good. Keep me posted. I'll see what I can do from here. Good luck."_ _

_ _You hung up. Bigby picked you up again and set you down on the floor. You noted with great satisfaction that the painkillers seemed to have kicked in.  
\---------------------  
The rain was coming down harder as you went inside the office building. Bigby lit a cigarette. You shook your head when he offered you one. Flycatcher was moping the floor._ _

_ _"Excuse me," Bigby said._ _

_ _Flycatcher stopped and looked up. "Oh, hi, Sheriff Bigby, Blue. Great--great so see you. I don't know if you remember me. I've, uh, seen you two around, but you may have forgotten--"_ _

_ _"We know who you are, Flycatcher," you said. "You've worked at the Woodlands for how many years?"_ _

_ _He huffed a laugh. "I think I've lost count. But you know Crane, uh, let me go recently."_ _

_ _"Really?"_ _

_ _"Yeah. I mean, it's no big deal. So what brings you here? I mean, anything I can help you with?"_ _

_ _"We were hoping to have a talk with Dee or Dum," Bigby replied. "Do you know where they are?"_ _

_ _Flycatcher shook his head. "No. They don't keep regular hours as far as I can tell. Sorry."_ _

_ _"Why don't you take the night off?" You suggested._ _

_ _"That's nice of you, but I can't," he replied. "I still have to clean their office. I can let you in if you want. You can wait for them there."_ _

_ _You nodded. Flycatcher unlocked and opened the door, letting you and Bigby go in first. As far as you could tell, it looked just like any other office._ _

_ _"We're gonna have to take a look around," Bigby said, crushing his cigarette under his shoe._ _

_ _"I guess that would be okay," Flycatcher said hesitantly._ _

_ _"Wasn't really asking for permission."_ _

_ _"Right. You're the sheriff. I just don't wanna get in trouble or anything."_ _

_ _"We won't get you in trouble," you reassured him._ _

_ _You went straight for the file cabinet on the left. The first drawer you opened had files on a good handful of Fables. You pulled out the one on Crane and opened it. A list of expenses totaled up and who it was owed to made you raise your eyebrows._ _

_ _"Damn," you muttered._ _

_ _"What's that?" Bigby asked, coming up behind you._ _

_ _"A file on Crane. That's how much money he owes the Crooked Man."_ _

_ _"Shit."_ _

_ _"Yeah."_ _

_ _There was photo of Faith as well. A note written under it said to "find the photo", as well as "more details under Donkeyskin."_ _

_ _You closed the file and put it back. You pulled out the one labeled "Donkeyskin" and opened it. There was another photo of Faith, and a note saying she stole a photo from Crane. There was a list of what you assumed were leads crossed off._ _

_ _"Wonder what the photo was," Bigby muttered._ _

_ _You stared at the note, lost in thought. He put his hand on your shoulder. "Blue?"_ _

_ _You closed the file and put it back. "What if she managed to get a photo of Crane and Lily? And that's why she was killed?"_ _

_ _Your breathing picked up. "What if Crane wasn't the one who killed her, but he hired the Tweedles or someone to do it for him?"_ _

_ _You turned and stepped away and covered your eyes. Everything was bubbling up inside you, everything you'd been successfully suppressing the past couple of days, and now it was all coming up, you could feel it in the same way you could look at the sky and know if a storm was about to hit._ _

_ _And if you were alone, you probably would've just let it happen. But you were not alone. So you forced it all back down, forced your breathing back to normal, uncovered your eyes and turned back._ _

_ _"You okay?" Bigby asked._ _

_ _You nodded, not meeting his eyes. "Let's just keep going. We don't have much time."_ _

_ _"Find anything?" Flycatcher asked._ _

_ _"Not what we need," you replied._ _

_ _"I know these guys can come off abrasive at times," he admitted. "But they aren't so bad once you get to know them. And they really care about helping people."_ _

_ _"How do you mean they "help" people?" Bigby asked._ _

_ _"They're detectives."_ _

_ _You blinked. That's what they told him?_ _

_ _"Anyone can come in here with a problem," Flycatcher continued, "and they'll do their best to fix it. The way Dee explains it, it's like if someone lost their cat. They could hire them to, y'know, track it down. Or like sometimes, they get packages for people. They can be like couriers, y'know?"_ _

_ _"For who?" Bigby asked._ _

_ _"All kinds. Come to think of it, I don't really know where they keep them. Anyways, I'm just saying, you don't know them like I do."_ _

_ _You nodded. "Sure, Flycatcher."_ _

_ _Bigby went to one of the desks and went through the inbox. You went to the other desk. He pulled out a key._ _

_ _"You know about this?" He asked Flycatcher._ _

_ _Flycatcher shook his head. "No."_ _

_ _You looked back at the desk. There was a cup of lollipops with a note saying "don't touch", and another inbox. You searched it and pulled out a note. It said something about how Dee hated dogs. You raised an eyebrow and put it back. Bigby was reading a note._ _

_ _"Gonna take a wild guess and say it's about dogs," you said._ _

_ _He nodded._ _

_ _"Who the hell hates dogs?" You muttered._ _

_ _"What if you're wrong about them?" Flycatcher asked suddenly._ _

_ _You pinched the bridge of your nose and closes your eyes. He was a nice guy, you had nothing against him, but you were about to tape his mouth shut._ _

_ _"We're not," Bigby replied flatly._ _

_ _"I mean, they're misunderstood, sure, but that doesn't mean everything people say about them is true. You know, like when I think about it, you guys aren't so different. You help people, they help people."_ _

_ _You stared at him._ _

_ _"Is that what you think?" Bigby snapped. "There has to be something here."_ _

_ _"Why would there be anything--"_ _

_ _He rounded on Flycatcher. "Because they're lying to you, okay Flycatcher? They aren't detectives! They shot Blue!"_ _

_ _Flycatcher looked to you, then back at Bigby. "Bigby, what happened to your..."_ _

_ _"You're bleeding," you said quietly._ _

_ _Swineheart had the patience of a saint, but you were pretty sure he would lose some of it if he found out Bigby's stitches had torn._ _

_ _"You wanna know what this is?" Bigby continued. "This is them showing up to Lily's funeral with fucking shotguns! And it doesn't matter if they're really good at hiding their shit, they're involved alright! In all of this! Do you get it now?"_ _

_ _Flycatcher didn't respond. Bigby turned and sighed. "I didn't mean to..."_ _

_ _Flycatcher went over to a larger file cabinet across the room. "There's a door behind this file cabinet. I don't know what they keep back here, but it could be what you're looking for. That key you found should work."_ _

_ _Bigby went and unlocked it. He pulled the cabinet away from the wall, and a doorway was exposed. There was a staircase leading down to what appeared to be a basement. The three of you went down._ _

_ _The basement was like a packing room. Different objects lined the shelves, open boxes were scattered everywhere. You all split up, going to different parts of the room._ _

_ _You stopped in front of a shelf. There was a paint can labeled "for the crooked man". You opened it. There was a wad of cash inside and note. It was an apology to the Crooked Man from Crane for being late. Nothing about the witch._ _

_ _You put it back. You noticed a symbol on one of the open boxes. You peeked around at the others, and they all had the same symbol. It looked like a torture device._ _

_ _"Hey, guys?" Flycatcher called. "Do you think, after all this, do you think I could come back to the Woodlands?"_ _

_ _"Well, Crane is gone now," you said. "So I don't see why not. Stop by the Business Office. Can't make any promises," you added._ _

_ _He nodded. "Right. Thank you."_ _

_ _You gave him a small smile, then kept looking._ _

_ _"Blue," Bigby called._ _

_ _You hummed and turned. He was holding a small can. You went over and looked inside. There was a lock of hair._ _

_ _"Is that Snow's hair?" You asked._ _

_ _He nodded._ _

_ _"Snow White?" Flycatcher asked. "Why would..."_ _

_ _"We found her hair like this inside Lily's glamour," you explained._ _

_ _You took the lid from Bigby. The label on it read "Auntie Greenleaf". Bigby pulled the address book out of his pocket and opened it, flipping through the pages. He stopped and pointed to the initials "A.G."_ _

_ _"Oh my God," you breathed. "This is it."_ _

_ _You headed for the exit as Bigby turned to Flycatcher. "Call the Business Office. Tell Snow to meet us at this address."  
\---------------------  
Fuck fuck fuck fuck. You and Bigby had made it to the apartment building, but hadn't found the apartment itself. Snow wasn't there yet, and you were fifteen minutes late._ _

_ _"Bigby! Blue!"_ _

_ _You turned. Snow caught up and joined you. "I just got here."_ _

_ _"Us too," you replied. "It's number twenty-three."_ _

_ _Bigby stopped all of a sudden, and you almost collided with his back. You stepped back and looked._ _

_ _This was it. Apartment twenty-three._ _

_ _"How do you wanna do this?" Snow asked._ _

_ _Bigby pressed his ear against the door and listened._ _

_ _"Hear anything?" You asked after a moment._ _

_ _"If anyone's in there, they're being awfully quiet," he replied, pulling away._ _

_ _He stepped back and lifted his leg. You and Snow protested._ _

_ _"Are you seriously gonna kick down the damn door, Bigby?" You demanded. "We don't have a damn clue what's in there!"_ _

_ _"Blue, Crane could be in the other side," he argued._ _

_ _"Yeah, I know, but what the fuck else is in there? Have you suddenly developed x-ray vision, 'cause I sure as shit haven't."_ _

_ _The door opened. You tensed._ _

_ _It was a little girl. She seemed to be half asleep._ _

_ _"Hello?" She mumbled._ _

_ _"Hi," Snow said._ _

_ _"You woke me up."_ _

_ _"Uh, sorry," you said._ _

_ _"Is something wrong? Who are you?"_ _

_ _"I'm Blue," you replied. "And these are my friends, Bigby and Snow. What's your name?"_ _

_ _"Rachel," she replied. "Pleased to meet you. Uh, is there anything you need?"_ _

_ _"Is Auntie Greenleaf home?" Bigby asked. "Does she live here?"_ _

_ _"You mean my mom?" Rachel asked._ _

_ _"She ever, y'know, make the nightstand levitate, turn frogs into cats, that sort of thing?"_ _

_ _You huffed a laugh._ _

_ _"Is she a witch, dear?" Snow asked._ _

_ _"Oh, no, I would never call my mommy that," Rachel said. "She treats me alright."_ _

_ _"Rachel, do you mind if we take a quick peek around?" Bigby asked._ _

_ _Worry crossed over her face._ _

_ _"We'll be very quick," Snow assured her._ _

_ _"And we won't touch anything," you added._ _

_ _The three of you went inside. Rachel trailed after you._ _

_ _"I've been here all night," she said. "Nobody's been here!"_ _

_ _You looked around. The place was homey. A couch with a blanket draped over the back, a tree in front of the windows, a fireplace next to an old furnace, a record player, a desk._ _

_ _Rachel stood in front of the desk and peered up at you. "I'm gonna trust you not to break anything."_ _

_ _Snow stayed next to her as you and Bigby looked around. You went up to the record player._ _

_ _"Big band or classical?" You asked._ _

_ _"Honky tonk," Rachel replied._ _

_ _"No accounting for taste," Bigby muttered._ _

_ _You snorted and moved on to the furnace. "Don't see these much anymore."_ _

_ _"Dowdy, that's how we like it."_ _

_ _There was a photo of Rachel and an older woman hanging on the wall. You guessed the woman was Auntie Greenleaf._ _

_ _Bigby pointed to the deer skull hanging above the fireplace. "Your mom a hunter?"_ _

_ _"Oh no, she'd never," Rachel exclaimed. "That was found in the woods near Dix Mountain, I think."_ _

_ _You moved on to the tree. "Pretty big."_ _

_ _"Mommy uses it to carve her trinkets. It's from the old world."_ _

_ _"Trinkets," Snow repeated. "Like glamours?"_ _

_ _You turned. Rachel shrugged. You went over to them. Bigby went down the hall and opened the closet door._ _

_ _"Goddammit," he muttered._ _

_ _"Shouldn't say that," Rachel scolded._ _

_ _"I keep getting whiffs of that aftershave of his," Bigby grumbled._ _

_ _You nodded. You hated that smell._ _

_ _"I do too," Snow agreed._ _

_ _"Can I go back to bed now?" Rachel asked. "Please?"_ _

_ _Snow headed for the door. Rachel followed. You turned to follow, but something on the desk caught your eye. A glamour tube. Bigby stopped next to you and followed your gaze._ _

_ _"Is that a glamour tube?" He asked._ _

_ _Rachel whirled around. "Mommy _really_ doesn't let anyone play with that. Trust me, I've tried."_ _

_ _You picked it up._ _

_ _"Oh, no no no no no, please _please_ put that back exactly where you found it!" She begged. "No one is allowed to play with that!"_ _

_ _Snow crouched behind her and put her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "It's alright, honey, Blue's not gonna break it."_ _

_ _"No, you don't understand, she will freak _out_ if she discovers I let people in here and let them touch her stuff, okay? She checks all the time to see if things move, I don't wanna get in trouble."_ _

_ _"I won't get you in trouble, kiddo, I just wanna open it," you said._ _

_ _"_No!_"_ _

_ _The apartment shook. You stumbled, and Bigby caught you. Rachel tried to run toward you, but Snow caught her and held her._ _

_ _"Please, don't! This isn't what you think! That guy's not here, I promise!"_ _

_ _You opened the tube. Green light flooded the room, and you all stared as Rachel changed into Auntie Greenleaf._ _

_ _"It hurts when you do it that fast," she complained._ _

_ _You threw the tube on the desk and stormed up to her. "This isn't some fucking game you little bitch, we don't have time for your bullshit!"_ _

_ _Unfazed, she went and sat on the couch._ _

_ _"Start explaining," Snow ordered. "From the beginning."_ _

_ _"I was born in the woods to a jackal and a deer--"_ _

_ _You went and got in her face, resting your hands on the couch on either side of her head. "Quit fucking around. _Where is Crane?_"_ _

_ _"I ain't a fortune teller, Blue. I have no heavenly idea where he is. I can't help you. I have no interest in being turned into a skink and crushed under boot heels. There's powers at work here beyond your pathetic authority."_ _

_ _You straightened and eyed the tree._ _

_ _"We can protect you," Bigby said. "Whatever it is you're afraid of, we can make sure it won't come to pass."_ _

_ _Greenleaf raised an eyebrow. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?"_ _

_ _"I think we've been more than patient with you," Snow snapped. She turned to you and Bigby. "This witch has been selling illegal glamours that continue to undermine everything we've built. She's harboring a fugitive that took advantage of it, and now she's resisting every attempt to make things right. I frankly don't give a crap if she's afraid for her life, we can at least make sure she never hurts us again. We're destroying the tree."_ _

_ _Greenleaf shot up. "No!"_ _

_ _The apartment shook again._ _

_ _"How dare you come in here and threaten to take from me the one thing that--that tree is ancient, it's part of the family, and it's the only thing paying for this shithole apartment. And the Fables who can't afford the glamours from you come to me for help. Without them where do you think they could go?"_ _

_ _"Don't give me that! You’re making money off of other people's misery!"_ _

_ _"Can't she just work for us?" Bigby asked. "That way she'd be official."_ _

_ _"You want to reward her for criminal behavior?" Snow scoffed. "We can't trust this woman on the thirteenth floor."_ _

_ _"It doesn't matter 'cause I'd never do it," Greenleaf said. "I'm not a house cat, and I don't play well with others."_ _

_ _"No one would ever mistake you for a cuddly animal," you replied._ _

_ _Snow turned back to you and Bigby. "Burn the tree."_ _

_ _Greenleaf ran in front of the tree. "Look, look, I'll tell you, Crane was here, he was here, and then he left. He went to the Pudding N Pie to try to use my ring on the girls over there to get information."_ _

_ _"What does the ring do?" You asked._ _

_ _"He thinks it's the Ring if Dispel, that it will piece the protection around the girls' speech. He says pulling the truth out of them will prove his innocence. It won't though. Damn thing lost its power decades ago."_ _

_ _Snow sighed. "I'm sorry, but we still can't let you keep the tree. It wouldn't be right after what's happened."_ _

_ _You looked at Bigby, unsure of what to do. He looked back at you, then the tree, then Snow. Then he turned to Greenleaf._ _

_ _"Today's your lucky day, Greenleaf," he said. "I'm hiring you as the Business Office's newest witch in residence."_ _

_ _Your eyebrows shot up as Snow protested._ _

_ _"The witches over there will keep her out of trouble, and we have a glamour shortage as it is. It makes the most sense, Snow."_ _

_ _Snow turned on her heel and went to the door. You and Bigby followed._ _

_ _"So what, are moving gonna show up here or something?" Greenleaf asked._ _

_ _"Something like that," Snow said sharply._ _

_ _"Do anything stupid, and you can forget it," you warned. "And I'll burn that tree myself."_ _

_ _With that, you left Auntie Greenleaf's apartment. This was gonna be a tense cab ride._ _


	8. Chapter 8

You were out of the cab before it completely stopped. Crane's car was parked outside the club. The three of you wasted no time in entering the club, you kicking the door open.

Georgie was on the phone with someone, and cursed as soon as he saw you. "Did you miss a spot?"

You punched him. He cursed again. Crane's voice drifted through the dressing room door. "Tell me what you know!"

You went and flung the door open. The woman from before was standing just off to the side. Crane was shaking Nerissa by her shoulders. Blood was leaking from her eyes.

You saw red. You pulled Crane off her and started punching him. You threw him against the wall and went to hit him again. Bigby caught your wrist. Crane avoided eye contact with you. You tried to pull away, but Bigby tightened his grip. Glaring down at Crane, you relaxed your arm, and Bigby let go. You were tempted to start kicking Crane. You chose to wait.

"I didn't do anything!" Crane insisted. "I promise you, I didn't do anything! These girls, the girls, they'll back me up! I just have to get this stupid thing working, that's all!"

He shook the ring. "They can't talk because of that spell, but once this ring gets through, I'll know what's going on, and this whole thing will be over!"

"The ring won't work," Bigby said. "Greenleaf sold you out."

"What? No, this will work, I assure you!" He shook the ring again. "It must!"

He pointed it at Nerissa. "Tell me who killed her!"

"My lips are sealed," Nerissa said quietly.

Crane dropped to the ground and started crying. Or maybe he was just whimpering. You didn't care.

"How many years?" Snow asked.

He looked up at her. "What?"

"How many years has this been going on?"

"Too many." He looked to you and Bigby. "But I didn't kill those women, I had nothing, _nothing_ to do with that."

"We found the photos of you and Lily," Bigby growled.

Crane winced. "I know, I know, but that was--that--I just...I just love you, Snow! I love you, I love you, and I'm sorry I'm not Prince Charming, okay! I'm sorry I didn't cheat on you and run away to Europe!"

"You don't love me, Crane," Snow said firmly. "I know what this is, I've seen it before. It is not love."

He looked away. Snow turned to you and Bigby. "I don't think he did it."

"_What?_" Bigby asked.

"Look at him. Do you really think this man murdered these women? He wouldn't be brave enough."

Son of a bitch, she was right. You wanted Crane to be the killer, so this whole thing would be over. But Ichabod Crane? Murder two women? It didn't make sense.

"We've been chasing this guy--just, why now?"

"The fucker is shaking on the floor and whimpering," you said. "Is this really how someone who murdered two women would act?"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," the woman said. "Did you see how he was acting when you showed up? Why would he come here if he wasn't covering his tracks?"

"He believes he's being framed," you replied.

"This fuckup knows more than he's saying," Bigby insisted.

"He probably does," Snow agreed, ignoring Crane's protests. "But there's a difference between being involved and being the guy who did it."

"Okay, but if Crane didn't kill Faith or Lily then who the hell did?" The woman demanded.

"This is bigger than Fuckup over here," you replied. "Someone else is involved."

"Well, shit."

"I didn't intend for any of this to get so--" Crane started.

"You've been stealing money from Fabletown for years, haven't you?" Snow cut him off.

He didn't respond.

"We're not gonna kill you, so quit your shivering. Ichabod Crane, you are under arrest for the misappropriation of Fabletown funds. You'll have the right to counsel, the right to depose witnesses, but as of right now you're coming with us."

You grabbed Crane and yanked him up. He dusted off his pants.

"You think you have what it takes to run that office?" He hissed. "You think I didn't make sacrifices? I made sacrifices. And you won't be in that chair one minute before you have to give up something you care about just so the wheels don't fall off the goddamn wagon. I did the best I could with what I had, and the town took everything it could out of me. If I maybe took a little something back in return, then so be it. I have no regrets."

You pushed him to the door.

"Thing is," Bigby said. "We're better at this then you.”

You all left the dressing room and went out the back door. It still hadn't stopped raining. You started down the alley to the street. A car pulled up and slowed down. You all stopped, and your heart started to pound. The wheels turned toward you, and the car started inching forward. Bigby cursed.

You hurried back down the alley and turned into the connected one, the car slowly following. Before you could even make it halfway, two more cars pulled up and blocked the way. You all stopped, Snow and Crane behind you and Bigby. A door on each car opened. The Tweedles came out of one, and a woman with dark hair came out of the other. All three of them had guns. As they came closer, you noticed the woman had a red streak at the front of her hair. They stopped a little ways away.

"Hi," she said. "What'cha got there?"

Something about her voice sent chills down your spine. You held back a shiver. You hoped to God she couldn't somehow sense it.

"Look, it's recently come under out attention that you're…how shall I put this? Attempting to claim what is the personal property of the Crooked Man. He's about yay high, a hundred and twenty odd pounds, pissed his sheets until he was fourteen. Sound familiar?"

"I haven't told them anything!" Crane blurted.

She wagged her finger and shushed him. "Not now, not now. The grown-ups are talking."

"Who are you?" Bigby demanded.

"No, no, no, no," she tutted. "That's not how this works. How this works is you are going to walk Crane over here, like a good doggie."

"It wasn't my fault!" Crane yelped.

"Shut up!" Snow snapped. She stepped forward and pointed at the woman. "You're interfering with official Fabletown business. Step aside."

The woman turned to one of the Tweedles. "Tweedle Dee. What's the uh, y'know, the thing the mundies call me?"

"W-what?" Dee stammered.

"My nickname. You know what I'm talking about."

"Bloody Ma--"

"Bloody Mary, that's it, thank you." She turned back to you. "And do you know why they call me that? Because some of them, they think it's funny to have their little sleepovers and say my name five times in a mirror. They find it less funny when I actually show up and feed their lungs to the family dog."

She barked, giving a manic grin. "And I do that for a hobby. Like golf. To relax."

"This was really the wrong day to try and pull this shit," Bigby growled.

"I told you he'd never just give him up," Dee said.

Mary side-eyed him. His face dropped. She looked back to you and shrugged. She started walking back to the cars. "Fuck it."

You backed up to the turn in the alley, keeping Snow and Crane behind you. Bigby started backing up when the Tweedles advanced. They opened fire on him. You froze as dozens of bullets hit him. Bigby hit the wall and slid down to the ground, blood streaking on the wall. The bullets stopped. He didn't move.

"Bigby?" You called, voice strangled.

He didn't respond. You started counting, panic bubbling in your chest. When you hit three, his eyes opened. Bigby slowly got to his feet, even as more bullets were fired. You watched as he shifted almost completely into a wolf.

He threw a dumpster at the Tweedles. When they dodged, he ripped a breaker box off the wall and threw it at them. They dodged that too. Bigby grabbed Dum and slammed him against the wall. Dee shot at him, and he dropped Dum and threw Dee against the opposite wall. He picked Dee up and threw him at Mary, who was leaning against one of the cars. She dodged.

Dum tried to hit Bigby with his gun, but Bigby ripped the gun from his hand and slammed him against the wall again, choking him. After a moment, Bigby let go. You saw Mary aim her gun and ran at her. She pulled out another gun and fired it at you. Searing pain went through your left thigh, and you screamed and dropped to your knees. You heard another shot, and Bigby fell behind you.

You pushed up to your feet as Mary approached, and she hit you across the face with her gun, then grabbed your right wrist and kicked your feet from under you. She yanked hard on your arm as you went down, and you screamed again as you felt your shoulder pop out of place. She dropped you to the ground and started kicking you in the ribs. She stopped, and you wheezed and coughed, spitting blood out on to the ground. You groaned.

"You know," she said, placing her foot just next to the wound in your thigh. "You wouldn't think silver bullets would work on anything but a pure werewolf, but as it turns out, that's just not the case."

Mary pressed down hard on your thigh, and you screamed. You grabbed her ankle and shoved her off. Panting, you rolled on to your side, watching as she pulled the Woodsman's axe out of the car. She dragged the blade along the wall, the scraping sound piercing your ears. She stopped behind you. You knew what she was going to do.

"Just take him," you blurted. "Take Crane, and fuck off."

"Yeah, I don't know," Mary replied.

The window on one of the cars rolled down. Someone stuck their hand out and signaled to Mary. The window rolled back up.

"It's your lucky day, kid," she said. "The Crooked Man says it's alright with him. Hello Ichabod. Got a stomachache?"

She and Crane started for the car. She paused and turned. "And just between us, Crane ain't no killer. I mean look at this face." She patted his cheek. "Couldn't stick a pig if his life depended on it."

She looked at you and gestured to Bigby. "Kinda like your boyfriend here. Too pussy to ruin a Tweedle's day."

She disappeared back out of your line of sight, and you heard a sharp snap, followed by Bigby roaring. She passed you and forced Crane into the car.

"Well, this is the start of a beautiful relationship we have with you guys," she remarked. "I'm jazzed about it. I'm sure we'll be in touch. See you around."

She got in the car, and it pulled away. The other car followed. The sound of the engines faded away, leaving nothing but the rain behind.

You thought you heard Bigby call you. You weren't entirely sure, because you passed out right after.


	9. Chapter 9

You shot forward with a gasp. Someone caught you, and you groaned as you registered the dull ache throughout your body. They gently leaned you back against the wall, and you blinked rapidly, trying to gain a sense of what the fuck was going on.

Snow was on her knees in front of you, covered in blood. Colin was sitting next to you on your left. A TV was on your right. You were leaning against a wall. Bigby was unconscious in his chair, covered in blood, and Swineheart was...digging around in his chest?

"What'd I miss?" You asked, voice rough.

"Not much," Colin replied. "Just a game of Find The Silver Bullet Pieces."

"Jesus."

"How are you feeling?" Snow asked.

"Kinda numb," you mumbled. "What's the damage?"

"A bullet lodged in your left thigh," Swineheart said. "You're lucky. It nearly missed an artery that, had it been hit, would've resulted in you bleeding out in minutes. Your right shoulder had also been dislocated. Apart from that and some bruised ribs, you'll be fine. I should also warn you," he added, "the painkillers will be wearing off within the next hour or so."

"Duly noted."

You avoided looking at Bigby. Every time you did, something in your heart twisted. It had all gone to shit so fast. You shifted, wincing at the twinge in your thigh. You hoped to God you could walk at all now, though your right leg didn’t hurt nearly as much anymore.

"Have you told him?" Snow whispered.

Your gaze snapped to hers. "What?"

"It's kind of obvious."

You sighed and winced. "Is it?"

"It's a wonder he hasn't figured it out yet."

"I hope he never does. Can you imagine how awkward that would be?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say awkward."

"More like embarrassing, I guess."

"I'm sure if you told him, he'd tell you."

You gaped at her. She offered you a tiny smile. "It's kind of obvious."

You had no idea what to say to that.

"Easy there," Swineheart said. "Try not to move."

Bigby blinked, looking around. His gaze landed on you. You grinned and waved, doing your damndest not to let your worry show. "Hey, Sunshine."

"We can't keep meeting this way, old boy," Swineheart continued. "I figured I'd be done before you were conscious, but I'm afraid there's little I can do for the pain."

Bigby looked at his arm. You winced at the sight of the bone sticking out.

"I don't recommend messing with it," you said.

"Yes, very ugly," Swineheart remarked. "But not life-threatening. I can't say the same for these bullets peppered throughout your vital organs."

"Isn't there something..." Snow trailed off.

"Look, I'm a little engaged with saving his life at the moment. If the fractured extremity concerns him that much, he can set it himself."

You really wished he hadn't said that. Bigby propped his arm on the armrest and set it. You cringed at the sound. "_Jesus._"

"Not bad," Swineheart said. "That'll do, I suppose. He's lucky to be alive, and he won't be next time if he keeps going like this. He didn't listen to me last time. Maybe he'll listen to you two."

You snorted.

"Hey Doc," Colin said. "How much longer?"

"Colin, leave him be," Snow warned.

"It's finished when it's finished," Swineheart said.

"'Cause I once watched a vet sew a turtle back together in ten minutes flat."

You massaged your temples.

"Colin, you're not even supposed to be here right now," Snow sighed.

"Oh really? Where am I supposed to be? I'm here to take care of my friend."

"With what, your hooves?"

"Hey, listen lady--"

"Could you please not distract the doctor while he has my chest cut open," Bigby interrupted.

"Yes, that would be helpful," Swineheart agreed.

The silence that enveloped the room for the next few minutes was on the heavy side. You tried to keep your leg as still as possible. Every time you moved it, it ached worse than your lower leg had. Swineheart hadn't been kidding when he said the painkillers would be wearing off soon.

"This isn't a habit you should keep to, having visits with me," Swineheart said, standing. "And this time was no joke. Eat as many metal shellings as you see fit, but take just one more silver round near your heart, and the only place I'll be visiting you is the morgue."

You swallowed hard. He turned to you and Snow. "He'll be fine for light duty, if he can figure out what that means."

"He knows what it means," Snow replied. "It's just been an unusual couple of days."

"I know, but please, don't give him the excuse."

"He'll need rest, I assume."

"Sleep, mostly. Make sure he doesn't get into any further altercations."

You nodded, knowing damn well that would be easier said than done.

"Blue and Snow have enough to deal with, Swineheart," Bigby said. "I can take care of myself."

"Clearly. Miss White, Sheriff, Blue." Swineheart gave Colin a disdainful look. "Colin."

"Swiney," Colin grumbled.

Snow stood and followed Swineheart to the door. Bigby went to the kitchen. You braced yourself against the wall and pushed yourself up to your feet. Your left leg threatened to give out, and you paused, biting your lip hard. Holding on to the wall, you made it to one of the chairs by the kitchen table and sat down. The landing was a bit rough, but you made it.

"Somethin' tells me that wasn't a bright idea," Colin muttered.

You flipped him off. He rolled his eyes and made his way to the kitchen. You stretched your leg out, leaning over to peek at your right leg. You were damn lucky you were a Fable; the wound on your right leg was almost healed.

"You were really fucked up, man," Colin said.

You sat up as Bigby and Snow came back.

"You looked like when you take an action figure and bend its limbs the wrong way."

"God, Colin," you muttered.

"I'm just sayin' I was worried about him is all. Guy hasn't had a decent night's rest in days."

"We'll all get some rest when this whole thing is done," Snow said.

"What "whole thing"?" Colin demanded. "What's even happenin' out there? I mean, do you guys have, like, a plan or somethin'? And who should I be asking? Should I be worried about the Crooked Man taking over, or is Crane still a thing?"

"The Crooked Man, Bloody Mary, the Tweedles, this is bigger than I thought it was," Bigby said, putting on a shirt.

You nodded.

"The Crooked Man came out of the shadows for a reason," Snow said. "For him to attack us so blatantly like that, he either feels invincible or desperate."

"Well, if those are my two options, I don't think I'd pick desperate," Colin said.

"What do you mean?" You asked.

"You traded Crane to save Bigby. I'm just sayin', that's not something you do when you're playing with house money."

"Colin, I swear to God, if you're about to give me shit you can go fuck yourself," you growled.

"If Blue didn't hand him over, my ass would be down the Witching Well and Crane would still have been taken," Bigby said.

"Okay, okay, I'll take your word for it," Colin replied.

"All I care about right now is just what does the Crooked Man want out of this," Snow said. "I thought he was just a loan shark, but clearly he's operating in other circles. It can't just be about Crane, right? Is this all about the murders? Crane can't be useful to him anymore, so what does it have to do with Faith and Lily?"

"It's all about control," you said.

"The Crooked Man declared war against us last night. At least, that's what I thought when it happened. But now I see that this war has been going on for years. We just haven't noticed because our way of doing things is broken. We need to do things the right way."

"What do you mean, the right way?" Colin asked.

"What do you think I mean?" Snow sighed.

"I don't know, but it suspiciously sounds like your way."

You pinched the bridge of your nose.

"Starting now, we do everything cut and dried," she said. "By the book, straight as an arrow."

"Pure as driven snow," Colin drawled.

"I'm not saying I'm the arbiter of--"

"Sure you're not."

"Is now _really_ the time to be doing this?" You snapped. "Because with this clusterfuck of a mess on our hands--"

The phone rang, cutting you off. Snow went and answered it. "Wolf's residence. Oh, Bufkin, what is it? Okay, I'll let them know. Thanks."

She hung up. "Guess who's waiting in your office right now?"

You raised an eyebrow. Bigby shrugged.

"Nerissa."

You blinked.

"That broad from the Pudding N Pie?" Colin asked.

"Apparently she told Bufkin she has something she needs to talk to the two of you about," Snow continued, ignoring him. "But that she'll only tell you. What do you think that could be?"

"Aw, Bigby and Blue have got an admirer," Colin said. "You two always do well with the disenfranchised. Something about your prickly demeanors attract them like moths to a flame."

You gave him an unimpressed look.

"She probably just wants to talk about last night," Bigby said. "The whole thing at the Pudding N Pie."

"Maybe," Snow replied. "I should head back to the Business Office. I've left Bufkin alone taking calls for too long. And I should probably change out of these clothes. Let me know when you're done with Nerissa."

She left, closing the door behind her. Colin wandered over to the kitchen, muttering to himself. Bigby turned to you. "You okay?"

You nodded. Swineheart's warning kept ringing around in your head. You were trying to block it out, but every time you did it just got louder and louder. And if it didn't stop, like right now, you were going to lose it.

You braced one hand against the table, the other on the seat of the chair, and pushed yourself up. You let go and, carefully balanced, took a step forward. As soon as you put the slightest amount of weight on your left leg, your knee buckled. Bigby caught you and held you up. You cursed, a weak chuckle escaping.

"You know you can talk to me," he said.

You nodded.

"So talk to me, Blue."

You closed your eyes, chewing your cheek. You were shit with the whole "talking about your feelings" thing. You punched through your feelings. Talking was out of the question. And if you thought about it, which you hadn't really up until now, maybe that was why you and Faith didn't talk much. She was shit at it too. It was easier for the both of you to avoid whatever it was at all costs.

You wished you'd done things differently with her.

You took a deep breath. "Just...you're all I've got left now, okay, and I just--for a second I thought..."  
You couldn’t do it. You couldn’t get yourself to say it, and you hated yourself for it. You just let that sentence hang in the air, unfinished. It was quiet for a long moment. And this silence was exactly why you didn't talk about your feelings. It was always weird and awkward and uncomfortable and unnecessary and--

"Look at me."

You opened your eyes, and once you saw the look in Bigby's eyes, you knew. Snow was right. About you, about him, about it all. You wondered why you hadn't noticed before, why it hadn't taken a near death experience to get you to see, but you supposed it didn't really matter that much.

You wondered if he was thinking the same thing. And if he was, what he would do about it, because if didn't decide soon you had half a mind to--

"For fuck's sake, just kiss already," Colin groaned.

You and Bigby cursed at him. He rolled his eyes and went back in the kitchen. You didn't want to know how long he'd been watching. That was just weird.

"Tell you what," Bigby muttered. "When this is all over, I'll take you out."

The corners of your lips twitched up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

"Hope you do."


	10. Chapter 10

This time you had the sense to grab some painkillers from your apartment before heading to the office. Walking was iffy at best, but at least your leg wasn't about to give out at a moment's notice.

When you got to the office, Bigby opened the door. Nerissa was already waiting inside. She gave a small smile. "Hi."

You returned it as you limped in. "Hi."

You didn't have a desk. There wasn't enough room for it. You didn't mind, as you preferred working at home.

"Working at home" meant you and Bigby sitting down, either at your place or his, and going over files, which lead to the two of you falling asleep on each other. Not that either of you minded.

Bigby went and sat behind the desk. You sat on one of the two chairs in front of it, and Nerissa took the other one. You positioned your chair so you could stretch your leg out. Despite your efforts, it was still awkward.

"Um, are you okay?" Nerissa asked tentatively. "Neither of you looked good last night."

"Let's just say I've been better," Bigby replied.

She looked to you. You shrugged. "Well, I'm not dead, so I think I'm doing alright."

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He offered you one, and you took it. He offered one to Nerissa, and she raised an eyebrow. "Huff N Puffs? Not many people smoke those."

She pulled her own pack out from her bag and lit one.

"So what was that back there with Crane?" Bigby asked.

"There's not a lot that I can talk about," she replied quietly. "You know that."

"So the spell isn't just when you're at work?" You asked.

"What I mean is, I don't want to waste your time, but I don't want you wasting your own time, either."

You put your cigarette out in the ashtray on the desk, thinking. "At the Pudding N Pie, you found a way to tell us where to go. Would that work again?"

Nerissa shrugged. "You can try."

"You're here because the Crooked Man just sent Crane to the bottom of our list of worries," Bigby said. "And you have something you wanna say about that, right?"

She looked away. "These lips are sealed. If I could answer you just like that, I wouldn't have had to make that appointment with you."

"No, I guess not."

"Sometimes, we have to find our way through life on our own, grasping and fumbling in the dark. I used to have friends, to help me find my way. But now they're gone. And I don't know what to do."

"Are you trying to say something about Faith and Lily?" Bigby asked, putting out his cigarette.

"What I'm saying is," she tried slowly. "Friends matter. And I--I don't have any left. So I hope you're looking after yours."

"Who are you talking about?" You asked.

Nerissa put out her cigarette. "I'm sorry. I thought I could do this. I need you to know, I want to help."

"But your lips are sealed," you said. You hesitated. "I don't suppose the ribbons can just be taken off?"

Fear crossed her face as she shook her head. You leaned forward and took her hand. "We'll fix this."

Three sharp knocks rapped on the door. Nerissa shot up, panicking. "If anyone finds out I came here..."

"That's probably Snow," Bigby said, standing.

"Listen, can you keep this conversation between us?"

You both nodded. The door opened, and Snow glanced between the three of you. "Sorry, I just need to talk with the Sheriff and Blue for a moment. Please excuse us."

You carefully stood, shooting Nerissa an apologetic look, and stepped out into the hall with Snow and Bigby.

"I might have a new lead for you, but I don't know how solid it is," she said quietly. "Beauty and Beast called the office just now. They said they wanted to talk to you about something. I wonder if they've heard about Crane."

"Thank you for listening," Nerissa said, going to leave. "You should go on to your next business. I don't think you'll be wasting your time."

You raised an eyebrow as she walked away.

"That was abrupt," Snow remarked.

"One way to send a message," Bigby replied.

"What did she tell you?"

"I think she told all of us with the way she just left," you said.

"Okay. So about Beauty and Beast. Do you think there's something to it?"

"That's what Nerissa was doing," Bigby said. "Telling us to go there. I think she made it as clear as she could've."

You started going down the hall. You tried to be as subtle as possible with staying near the wall, just in case.

"You know, Beauty came to me a while back," Snow said. "She was looking for financial assistance. I told her there was nothing I could do, and she said that meant she'd have to go somewhere else. You don't think she meant the Crooked Man, do you?"

You stopped in front of the elevator and pushed the call button. "That would explain why they called."

The doors opened, and you went in. Bigby followed.

"I have other matters to attend to," Snow said, and continued down the hall.

You leaned against the elevator wall as the doors closed and closed your eyes.

"Tired?" He asked.

"Always am," you sighed. "It's a permanent state of being at this point."

He snorted. The elevator dinged as it stopped on the right floor, and you opened your eyes as the doors opened. As you and Bigby made your way down the hall, you could hear raised voices through the walls.

"This is a sign, isn't it," you muttered.

"Probably," Bigby replied.

You stopped in front of their door, and Bigby knocked. The voices stopped, and there was a brief pause before the door opened and Beast peered out. He glared at the two of you. "What do you want?"

"You called, right?" Bigby asked. "Or uh, was it Beauty?"

"Why would I call you?"

"Listen Beast," you snapped. "It's been a fuck of a night, and we really don't have time for the run-around. Snow said you called, and here we are, so what the fuck do you want?"

"I didn't call you. Must've been Beauty. She's been surprising me a lot lately. So have you two. Yet with all the sneaking around, somehow I'm still the bad guy in this."

"Beast, I swear to God--"

"Who's at the door?" Beauty called.

"Either have her come to the door or let us in," you hissed. "Stop wasting our goddamn time."  
Beast shut the door, and if it weren't for the sound of clicking locks, you would've thought that was that. The door opened all the way, and Beast walked away. You and Bigby went in, closing the door behind you.

"It's your pals, Bigby and Blue."

God, you wanted to slap him.

"Hi," Beauty said. "Please excuse us for just a minute." She turned to Beast. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Yes," he agreed. "Let's."

They went off into another room. You ignored their raised voices drifting through the door. Instead you looked around at the...rather expensive-looking apartment. Ornate furniture, a giant portrait of themselves hanging on the wall, and, shit, the fricking giant crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The electric bill for that thing had to be huge.

"I thought they were in serious debt?" You whispered.

"So did I," Bigby mumbled back.

A door opened, and Beauty and Beast came back out.

"Sorry, it's been a long night," she said.

"Yeah, you know what they say," he said. "Centuries of marriage come with centuries of baggage."

"I gotta say, your place looks, uh, expensive," Bigby remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Beast demanded.

"Beast!" Beauty scolded.

"No, really, I wanna know."

"Snow said you went to her for financial help," you cut in. "Did you end up going to the Crooked Man?"

"I didn't know what else to do," Beauty began.

"We should just deal with things on our own," Beast interrupted. "Bigby and Blue will just complicate things."

"I called them here, and I want to see if they can help us."

"We can't do anything if you don't tell us what's going on," Bigby said.

"I gotta know one thing first," Beast said. "What if we did have something to say about the Crooked Man? What if we talk, and you don't get him, and all this comes back on us? We'd be risking a lot. We’ve seen what happens when you cross the Crooked Man."

"You think you're the only ones in danger?" You snapped, temper flaring bright red. "If you have information on the Crooked Man, quit wasting our time and just fucking tell us. You're seriously in so much debt? Look at this place!" You gestured to the things around you. "This is not the way people short on cash live. If you were really as broke as you say, this place would be damn near empty."

"Look, we're used to a certain lifestyle, okay?" Beast replied defensively. "We couldn't just give that up."

"We never meant for it to get like this," Beauty added. "It was just we had nowhere else to turn, and we got in over our heads."

"There's not a lot of work out there. Who would we be if we just--"

The phone rang, cutting him off. Both he and Beauty stared at the phone in fear. You shared a confused look with Bigby. The call went to voicemail, and you immediately thanked God and whatever other powers that be that you’d never had to hear that voicemail message until now.

Eventually the annoying message ended, and the caller got to leave theirs. The voice that rang out was gruff and angry. "That fucking message. I'm gonna come down there and bash your heads in with that machine if I have to call again and hear that fucking message one more time. I've been doing this long enough to know that if you had the cash you'd have paid by now. So consider yourselves out of warnings. It's time to start thinking about how else you can settle this. 'Cause next time I'm making a house call. The Crooked Man's gonna get his, one way or another."

The machine beeped, signaling the caller had hung up. You looked at Bigby, then to Beauty and Beast. You pinched the bridge of your nose. "We just wanna know how to find the Crooked Man. Who do we talk to, where do we go."

"The Lucky Pawn," Beauty replied. "That's where I borrowed the money. The Crooked Man's behind that place. I'd overheard people talking to Jersey about loans before, so, when I needed money, that's where I went."

"The Jersey Devil?" You asked.

She nodded. You groaned. You hated that bastard.

"I didn't realize that slimy prick was back on this side of the river," Bigby muttered.

"And those Tweedles were always going in and out," she continued. "Probably dropping off a loan payment they squeezed out of some poor Fable. But never the Crooked Man. Mainly it's just regular Fables. I can see now that it was a mistake, but I'm not the only one who goes there, you know. I saw the Woodsman's axe in there just the other day. It was in a display case."

"I guess he's hit hard times too," Beast said. "There's a lot of that going around."

"Fucking Bloody Mary must go through there," Bigby growled. "She had Woody's axe with her last night. Tried to chop my damn head off with it!"

The sound of that damn axe scraping against the wall echoed in your mind, and you tried not to flinch. You crossed your arms.

"Maybe if you go there you can sort some things out," Beauty suggested.

"If we can't find the Crooked Man there, maybe we can make enough noise that he'll come find us," you said.

"Hold on," Beast said quickly. "Don't go there. Sounds like you're just going to get Beauty in trouble."

You raised an eyebrow.

"You know that butcher shop, The Cut Above? The one on Tubman Street, same block as the baker and the candlestick maker. Well, I've been delivering packages from there for a while. The thing is...it's for the Crooked Man. And I don't think it's meat in the packages."

"What's the address?" You asked.

He shook his head. "I delivered to places all over town, but never to the man himself. It never seems to be heading to the same place. But it always comes out of the butcher shop."

"How did you get involved?"

"Johann the butcher called. He has a problem with the refrigeration unit one night. But when I finished it was your pal Mary who showed up to pay me. She said I was reliable, she liked that, and it's the only thing I've been able to pick up, and it's still not enough."

"You deal with Bloody Mary?" You asked, voice rising unintentionally.

"No, Johann is the one who hands over the packages, you know, day to day," Beast replied. "But I've seen her around there. She gets under my skin, you know? I try to avoid her as much as possible. But I don't need to tell you what she's like."

"You're damn right you don't," Bigby snapped. "We don't need a rundown on her reputation."

"I just wanted to provide for Beauty," Beast said. "Give her the kind of life she deserves."

"We shouldn't have to live like this," Beauty said. "Scraping to get by."

"None of us should. We were royalty once. We were accustomed to a certain lifestyle. Neither of you would understand."

"Blue might," Bigby mumbled.

When Beauty and Beast looked at you with matching confusion, you almost snorted. "I was royalty too."

"Don't you miss it?" Beauty asked.

You offered a somewhat sad smile. "Some parts."

"So where are you going?" Beast asked. "If this all goes sideways, I'd like to know where it's coming from."

Bigby looked at you. You shrugged.

"I wanna know what the Crooked Man is hiding at that butcher shop," he said after a moment.

"You know, once you show up there word is gonna spread," Beauty warned. "There may be nothing left for you to see if you go to the Lucky Pawn after."

"Guess we'll find out," you replied.

You and Bigby left the apartment. As you were heading toward the elevator, Beast called after you.

"I don't know what you two are planning when you find the Crooked Man, but is there any way you could help us out?" He asked when you both turned.

"What do you mean?" You asked.

"Well, maybe you could make this all just...go away."

"We would really appreciate it," Beauty added.

Your eyebrows went up.

"You're asking us to kill him, aren't you?" Bigby demanded. "Is that what you think we do?"

"No!" Beauty exclaimed. "Of course not!"

"We know that the Crooked Man is bad," Beast explained. "For all of Fabletown."

You continued walking.

"We're gonna do our jobs," Bigby growled, joining you. "Lucky for you that might just solve your problems anyway."

As you pressed the call button for the elevator, you wondered how—or even if--you would tell Bigby that you were going to kill the Crooked Man. And as the elevator took you both down, you wondered if he already knew.


	11. Chapter 11

The Cut Above was emptier than you were expecting. No customers, no employees, and the meat...freezer burnt food probably wasn't a good look for a business. The place looked like it was already closed.

Before you or Bigby could say anything, the back doors behind the counter opened, Johann came out. He blanched when he saw you, and cleared his throat before putting on a too-big smile. "What can I get for you? Interested in a particular cut? Um, let's see what we have in stock."

He crouched behind the display case. "Let's, uh, let's see what we got here. Flank steak, on special."

"What's going on here?" You interrupted.

He straightened. "We sell meat. You wanna buy something?" He chuckled nervously. "What'cha see is what you get. Just meat. You won't find anything else. We just, uh, we do more wholesale and meat packing than walk-up service."

"You don't mind if we take a look around then?" Bigby asked.

"I guess not." Johann looked toward the back door. "Did you hear that?"

You narrowed your eyes as he backed up to the door.

"Oh, I'm real sorry," he said. "I-I have to go check on that. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."

He all but bolted inside.

"Someone's not good at staying cool under pressure," you said.

Bigby snorted. The two of you went behind the counter. You noticed a red button on the display case and cursed. The two of you went in the back. The immediate change in temperature, coupled with all the slabs of meat hanging from the ceiling, told you this was the back freezer. You could hear Johann muttering to himself, though you couldn't tell exactly where he was.

"She's gonna kill me, oh God she is gonna kill me, they're gonna get me killed."

You weaved through the maze of frozen meat until you came to an opening. Johann was stacking cases in front of a closed workshop door. He didn't seem to notice either of you. You both went up to him, not even trying to be quiet. You crossed your arms, and Bigby tapped him on the shoulder. Johann jumped and dropped the case he was holding and spun around.

"Please--please don't," he stammered.

"I'm running out of patience, Johann," you said sharply.

"Please don't kill me!"

"Oh my God, we're not gonna kill you. Just tell us what's going on."

"They said to me, "Johann, you can keep your life and lose your shop or lose both,"" he rambled.

"Just open the door, Johann," Bigby said. "And it won't be your problem anymore."

"I-I can't."

"Why not?" You demanded. "What's back there?"

"I don't know, honest!" Johann insisted. "It's locked from the other side. Look, I just work the front, that's all I'm supposed to do. I-I actually--I haven't been back there in years. I don't know any more than that, I'm not part of their crew!"

"Crew?"

"Fuck. The Crooked Man's people. Jersey Devil, Dee and Dum, and that mental case Bloody Mary. You wanna talk about the real butcher? It's her, not me. This is her place. I'm telling you, they muscled in on me, took over my storage and delivery."

Bigby gestured for him to move away from the door, and Johann complied.

"All 'cause of that heatwave," Johann continued. "That summer was even hotter than this one. I let Mary and those porkers stay cool in the meat locker one day, playing cards, having a great time. I guess they were sizing the place up. Shows what I get for being nice. I'm just a victim in this. I don't know what's back there, I swear."

"We'll see if we believe you once we get back there," you said.

You went to the door, bent over, and tried pulling it up. Your leg twinged, but you ignored it. The door lifted maybe an inch, and you squatted lower, trying to lift it higher. A dull ache began to pulse in your thigh, and you bit your lip. Bigby came up next to you and started pulling as well. It took a minute, but you got the door opened.

A large table stood in the center of the room, littered with glass bottles and beakers. Shackles laid on the floor next to it. Smaller tables lined the wall next to the door, boxes stacked on top. Shelves against the wall in front of you held labeled jars. A giant chalkboard took up almost the entire wall on your left. The writing on it almost looked like some kind of code.

"What is this place?" Bigby asked as you two wandered in.

"I told you, I don't know!" Johann replied, lingering in the doorway. "They muscled me out! I haven't been back here since it was like this."

Your gaze landed on a bright red lightbulb next to the chalkboard. A large note underneath it read "run" in capital letters.

"Did you warn them we were here?" You demanded.

"I had to!" Johann insisted. "You come in here making trouble for me, but you only give a shit now because the Crooked Man stepped on your toes or something. Where were you when they took this place from me? It hasn't been easy for me. You think I wanna live with this on my back?"

"We're here now," Bigby said. "And we're gonna sort this all out."

He went to one of the smaller tables and emptied a box. A handful of glamour tubes fell out. "Guess that's what Beast was delivering."

You hummed and nodded, paying more attention to the symbol from before on the box. You turned to Johann. "Is that his brand or something?"

He nodded. "It's on everything that goes in and out of here."

"What's it mean?" Bigby asked.

"Guess they never used that thing on wolves."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a torture device from the Homelands," you explained. "It, uh, makes people crooked by breaking their bones."

Johann cringed. Bigby winced a little. You went over to the shelves and looked over the things stored here. You looked over your shoulder at the table, then the chains, then back at the shelves.

"These are raw materials for making magic," you said. "Greenleaf and any other rogue witches are probably getting their supplies from here."

"He could process them into just about any kind of magic," Bigby added.

"He's got the tools and the slave labor to work it."

You both turned to the chalkboard.

"So these must be the orders," Bigby finished.

He slid the chalkboard to the side, revealing a giant list of names paired with numbers. You glanced over it, noting Greenleaf, Georgie, Lily and Faith.

"He's got his hooks into everybody," he said.

"And doing it like this has to be cheaper than the Thirteenth Floor," you added. "And the ribbons, the chains--he's enslaving Fables."  
Bigby slammed his hands on the table. "And that fucker Crane knew all about it!"

"Yeah, what about Crane?" Johann demanded.

You looked over at him. You'd almost forgotten he was there.

"If finding the Crooked Man is so fucking important, why don't you ask your boss?" He continued. "He said he knows where everyone is! That creepy Magic Mirror, with the big green head and all. Why don't you just use that?"

"Crane shattered the Magic Mirror and made off with one of pieces," Bigby grumbled. "He probably still has the shard with him."

"Well, if they got their hands on an important magical item, there's only one place they'd take it: the Lucky Pawn. They probably took Crane there too."

"And if we find the Mirror piece there, we can find the Crooked Man," you said, leaving the room with Bigby.

"Hey, hold on," Johann called.

You stopped and turned.

"I'm real happy you found what you're looking for, but what about me?" He asked. "Do you really think this is gonna be alright? Of all the stuff in here I do know one thing." He pointed to the symbol on the boxes. "That's his icon, his symbol. What kind of a guy uses a torture device as his icon? The kind of guy who isn't gonna be understanding and Bigby Wolf and Blue showing themselves in. So tell me this: what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

"Don't worry," you replied. "We'll get him."  
\-------------------------------  
You winced as the pill went down dry. The ache in your leg had started getting worse during the cab ride. Thank God you'd thought to take the bottle with you. Now if you could keep it intact and not lose it, that would be even better.

The security gate to the Lucky Pawn was about halfway down, though the door was open. Jersey and Woody were inside arguing.

"Jersey, don't give me that shit," Woody grumbled. "What the fuck's the point of havin' a system if you're just gonna--"

"It's not my fuckin' system!" Jersey cut him off.

Jack ducked under the gate.

"What the hell is going on?" You hissed.

Jack looked over at Woody and Jersey, then back at you and Bigby. "I'm just gonna..."

"I'm the guy that keeps shit in order, and that's it, Woody!" Jersey yelled. "If you love your axe so fuckin' much, why'd you pawn it in the first fuckin' place?"

Jack ran out the door as Woody shoved Jersey. You were half-tempted to go after Jack.

"I didn't pawn it, asshole," Woody insisted. "It was stolen from my apartment!"

"You don't want no part of this, pal," Jersey snapped. "You push me one more time and I will have one hell of a mess on my hands, and I really don't feel like mopping out this room today. So I'm giving you one last chance to thank me for my sunny disposition and generous attitude, turn the fuck around, and walk out that door with your life. Walkin' out with your axe or whatever other bullshit is not on the table. So get the fuck outta my sight."

He shoved Woody against the display case behind him. You and Bigby ducked under the gate. You ignored the resulting twinge in your thigh.

"What's going on here?" Bigby demanded as you went up to them.

"Christ, now these two?" Jersey complained.

"Are you kidding me?" Woody yelled. "It was here! It was right fuckin' here! What'd you do with it?!"

"How the fuck do I know?" Jersey shot back.

Woody grabbed him by his shirt. "Listen you bald little dipshit--"

Jersey hit him in the ribs, making Woody let go and bend over. Woody cursed and socked Jersey in the face. Jersey returned the favor, and Bigby pulled them apart.

"Back it up, Jersey, you're dealing with us now," Bigby said.

"You got here fast," Jersey remarked. "Still looking for whoever killed them hookers, or are you done chasing your tail?"

"Where's my axe?" Woody cut in. "Who'd you give it to?"

Jersey pointed at him. "You follow me here all the way from Battery fuckin’ Park just so I can prove to you that your axe isn't here, and you think I'm gonna take another inch of abuse?"

"Trust me, you don't wanna go there," Bigby warned.

"And what if I do?"

"Back off, dog!" Woody snapped. "I just want what's mine: my axe."

You glanced at him over your shoulder. "Woody, I swear to God--"

Jersey moved faster than you could react. He hit you in the thigh, right on your wound. You gasped out a curse and bent over, holding your thigh. You glared up at him when he chuckled, and Bigby tackled him. He grabbed Jersey's arm and twisted it behind him before slamming his head through a display case and into a glass ball. Woody pulled Bigby off him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" He demanded. "This is my fucking fight!"

"Not now," Bigby growled.

"Dog, you got a lot of nerve--"

You kicked the back of Woody's leg with your good one. "Not now, Woody!"

Green light lit the room. Jersey, glamour gone, got up and roared. Woody rushed at him, but Jersey knocked him down, straddled him and started hitting him. Bigby kicked him off into a metal locker behind the cases.

"Aw, protecting your friend," Jersey mocked, standing. "Too bad you couldn't protect those whores."

He climbed on top of the display cases. "Go on, try to stop me!"

He launched himself in the air. Bigby met him halfway, digging his claws into Jersey's abdomen. Jersey landed hard on the ground, sliding partially under the security gate. You went and slammed it on his back. You went to do it again, but he caught it in his hand.   
You backed up. He bowed his head, pointing his antlers at you, and rushed at you. You caught him by his antlers and snapped one off before stabbing it into his gut. He knocked you to the ground. You landed on your bad leg and winced.  
Jersey tackled Bigby, stabbing his claws through Bigby's arm and pinning him to another display case. Jersey tried to bite him, but he dodged.

"Hey assholes," Woody said. "I found her."

He swung his axe into Jersey's head. You scrambled to your feet as Jersey screamed and let go of Bigby. You grabbed a large statue off a shelf and slammed it into the axe still stuck in Jersey's head. He collapsed, wheezing. Woody pulled his axe out of Jersey's head and held it over his neck. You gave Woody an appreciative look.

"Where's the shard?" You demanded.

"You don't know anything about anything, do you?" Jersey groaned. "What do you have? Nothin'."

"We still have you, don't we?" Bigby shot back.

"You can't find the Crooked Man. No one can. The door to his house, it bounces around, never in one spot. Even Crane had to use the Mirror. They dumped all his shit here. Bloody Mary uses this place like her fuckin' dump."

"Where's Crane's stuff?" Bigby asked. "Where'd they put it?"

"In back."

You glanced at the metal case. The doors were partially open now. Probably happened during the fight.

Bigby jumped over the display cases and opened the doors the rest of the way. You noticed a very familiar coat hanging on the inside of the door.

"Is that what I think it is?" You asked.

"Crane's coat," he replied.

He dug around in the coat for a few moments. He turned and jumped back over the cases. You didn't have to ask to know he'd found the shard. Hope flickered in your chest for the first time in the last few days.

You, Bigby and Woody headed toward the door. Jersey called after you.

"Those girls are still dead," he said. "And there's nothin' you can to do bring them back. And I don't know what they did, but I do know this: if they're dead, it's 'cause the Crooked Man wanted them dead."

Something heavy settled in your chest again at that reminder. You went and stomped on Jersey's face. Neither Bigby nor Woody said anything. The three of you ducked under the gate and went outside. You tried to hide your limp.  
Bigby lit a cigarette and offered you one. You took it.

"Got a smoke?" Woody asked.

Bigby handed him one.

"Thanks," Woody mumbled. He took a drag and frowned. "Shitty brand."

"You're welcome," Bigby replied.

"Not gonna lie, I was having trouble figuring out which one of you to hit with this thing."

You raised an eyebrow at him. "Thanks."

You dropped your cigarette and crushed it under your shoe. You went to the edge of the sidewalk and flagged down a cab.

"Jersey was wrong, you know," Woody said.

"About what?" Bigby asked.

"About those girls. There is somethin' you can do about it: you can get the fucker who did it. Ain't that the plan?"

"Damn straight," you replied.

You opened the car door, waving to Woody as you got in. He started down the sidewalk. Bigby lingered in front of the cab.

"Hey Woody," he called.

Woody stopped.

"I'll see you around, alright?"

You couldn't hear Woody's response, but you saw him nod and keep walking. Bigby got in and shut the door, and you told the driver where you were heading.

"You're limping again," he said.

You winced. "God, is it that obvious?"

He hummed. "You're pretty good at hiding it, actually."

"Thank God."

A comfortable silence settled in place. Well, almost comfortable. You wanted to reach out and take his hand, but you were nervous. You couldn't help but worry that you'd dreamt that moment back in his apartment, that it had all been in your head.

But that would mean you'd dreamt Colin ruining the moment, and you were certain you'd never dream that.

Ah, fuck it.

You slid your hand across the seat and took Bigby's hand. He immediately laced your fingers together. The corners of your lips twitched up.  
\-----------------------  
If there was one thing you weren't expecting to see when you entered the Business Office, it was Bluebeard and Toad standing in front of Snow, who was sitting at the desk.

"I don't care who killed the prostitutes," Bluebeard said. "If Crane was helping himself to the community coffers, it means his hand was in my pocket. And you just let him go!"

"I don't know what you heard but it didn't happen like that," Snow replied coolly.

"Are you denying the fact?"

"She's denying me the chance to get a word in," Toad cut in. "Now, Miss White, I--"

"Sheriff Bigby and Blue have returned!" Bufkin announced.

They all turned to look at you. You fought the urge to hit Bluebeard.

"There's the ol' wrecking balls themselves!" Toad exclaimed.

You smiled and flipped him off as Snow met you halfway.

"Where have you two been?" She asked.

"I'm not finished here Miss White," Bluebeard started.

"Poor you, having to wait," you mocked.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you manners?"

"She also taught me patience, unlike yours. Now be a good little boy and wait there, and maybe you'll get a lollipop."

Toad started laughing. Bigby snorted, and Snow was clearly trying to hide her amusement. Bluebeard opened his mouth, rage contorting his face, but you turned your back to him.

"Look what we found," Bigby said.

He pulled out the shard. Snow's eyes widened. She gestured to Bufkin. "Bufkin, get this piece in the Mirror right away!"

"With pleasure, Miss White!" He replied. He flew over, took it from Bigby and landed in front of the Mirror.

"Finally," Snow sighed. "Things are swinging back in the right direction. You two have been gone all day. What did you uncover?"

"We had to get pretty persuasive with the Jersey Devil at the Lucky Pawn," you said. "He said the Crooked Man's door to wherever he stays moves. Some kind of magic door."

"Do you think the Mirror will be able to find the door once it's fixed?" She asked.

"That's how Crane did it," Bigby replied. "And that's how we're gonna do it."

"Sheriff, I could use your assistance," Bufkin called. "Would you and Blue join me at the Mirror?"

The three of you exchanged confused looks. You and Bigby made your way over to him.

"Don't go far, Blue," Bluebeard called. "I'd like to have a few words of my own with you about that little stunt you pulled."

Ah, he must've figured out you had lied about Crane's meeting being at two P.M. instead of A.M.

"Take a number," you called back.

"I don't understand," Bufkin said. "This piece just doesn't want to join the rest. Do you have any idea why?"

You shrugged.

"You got me," Bigby said.

"Well, where did you find it?" Bufkin asked. "What has been through since being separated from the rest? Shattering is a very traumatic experience, you know."

"It was in Crane's coat," Bigby said.

"And the last person we know who had the coat was Bloody Mary," you added.

"Ah, yes, Miss White was asking about her," Bufkin said. "That explains it. You Know Who and the Mirror have a very unhappy history with each other. How would you like it if she tried to use you as a doorway?"

"I think we already know the feeling," Bigby muttered.

"Well, I think I know how to proceed now. It will just take a little extra coaxing, that's all. Thank you for your help. It could be a while, I'll come find you when he's ready. Besides which, he might not want to come out with you watching."

"Oh, so he doesn't like being spied on?" Bigby asked.

Bufkin grinned and shrugged. You huffed a laugh. You and Bigby walked back over to Snow, trying to ignore Toad and Bluebeard arguing.

"Is it fixed?" She asked. "Did you ask about the Crooked Man?"

"Bufkin said it might be a while," you replied.

"If you're so self-reliant what do you want from the Business Office so bad?" Toad shouted.

You glanced over at them, eyebrow raised.

"What I want is my business," Bluebeard snapped.

"I can't take those two right now," Snow said. "We're trying to catch a murderer, and they're bickering about bureaucracy. We're at war. Don't they realize that?"

"Do you need some help over there?" Bigby asked.

"Yeah, thanks. Go talk to Toad, but just so you know we can't pay him. He really needs to go to the Farm, you know, so just break the news to him and be done with it, okay?"

She went back to the desk. You started for Toad, but Bigby caught your wrist. You looked at him.

"How's your leg?" He asked, slipping his hand down to yours.

"Fine," you replied, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Blue, would you mind coming over here for a moment?" Bufkin called.

You glanced at him, then back at Bigby.

"Go see what he wants," Bigby said. "And sit down."

You saluted with your free hand. "Aye aye."

He snorted. "You're a dork."

"I'm your dork," you corrected, the words slipping out before you could stop them.

You hadn't actually meant to say that out loud.

He pressed a quick kiss to your temple, and your chest swelled. You gave his hand a last squeeze as he let go, and you went and sat down--or rather, dropped down--on the floor next to Bufkin.

"What's up?" You asked.

He hesitated. "Well, he still doesn't seem to want to come out, and he likes you--"

"The Mirror likes me?" You asked.

"You request in rhyme," Bufkin replied. "Not many do anymore."

You hummed, not quite sure what to say to that. Whistling behind you made you look over your shoulder. Toad was whistling a happy tune on his way out. Clearly, Bigby hadn't sent him to the Farm. You turned back to the Mirror.

You held your breath as the shard finally went in place. The cracks glowed, and when the glow faded, the glass was sealed back together. You high-fived Bufkin. The door slammed shut behind you, and when you looked, Bluebeard was gone.

"The Mirror is fixed!" You called.

Bigby and Snow came over. He pulled you up as the Mirror's face blinked at you.

"I have to say, I have been better," the Mirror said. "But thanks for putting me back together."

"I'm sorry, I just--I have to know," Snow said. "Mirror, Mirror, we're glad you weren't slain, now please show us that sick creep Crane."

The image of Crane and Bloody Mary appeared. A chill went down your spine on seeing her, and you crossed your arms and tensed to suppress a shudder. Bigby put his hand on the small of your back and rubbed up and down. You relaxed immediately.

"You will get on that plane to Paris," Mary said. "And you will wait for the day the Crooked Man needs you. Until then, not a peep. Otherwise I get to deal with you my way. So please, please disobey." She paused. "Wait. Someone's watching."

Oh shit.

She looked around until it looked like she was looking directly at you. You swore she could see you, and maybe she did, or maybe she just knew where to look. She held out her hand, and the image turned red and began to shake before disappearing altogether.

"What just happened?" The Mirror asked.

"We pointed you in the wrong direction," Bufkin explained. "And looked at Bloody Mary's reflection."

"Oh, her. That explains the sting. I'd rather not have to feel the pain she brings. So, let's not do that again, okay?"

"Looks like we'll have to track him down later," Bigby said.

Snow nodded. "You're right. We need to focus on the immediate threat, and that's the Crooked Man."

"I'm not asking," Bigby muttered.

"Okay, uh," you started. "Mirror Mirror, no time to pout, uh, where does the Crooked Man hang out?"

An image of a door appeared. The Crooked Man's symbol was etched on it.

"I don't recognize the door," Bigby said. "But that's the Crooked Man's symbol on it."

"Hold on," the Mirror said.

The symbol glowed red for a second before fading away. The image of the door faded, and another image of a different door appeared. The symbol appeared on it. You noticed a sign next to it, and you knew exactly where that door was.

"That's Central Park," you said.

"I don't know when it's gonna move again, but we're gonna get there before it does," Bigby said.

The two of you headed for the door.

"Wait," Snow called.

You stopped and turned.

"When you get the Crooked Man, make sure you bring him back alive," she said. "He has to stand trial."

"We'll catch him and bring him back alive," Bigby promised. "Then we can clean him and cook him together."

"Good. I have enough to worry about here while I prepare the case against him. Good luck."

You quickly took another painkiller for your leg, just in case. As you and Bigby rushed to the elevator, you couldn't help but wish he hadn't made that promise.


	12. Chapter 12

The sun had set by the time you and Bigby reached Central Park. You didn't quite know how you were doing it, with your thigh and all, but you were running at full speed to the bridge before that symbol disappeared.

You skidded to a stop underneath it. The symbol was still there. Bigby kicked it open, revealing a portal. You took a deep breath. He looked at you, and you nodded. He took your hand, and you ran through the portal.

You came out into what looked like a hallway. You turned around and watched the symbol fade away on the wall behind you.

No turning back now.

Slow footsteps and metallic creaking echoed down from the right. You and Bigby pressed yourselves against the wall and waited as the sounds came closer. When they were right next to you, you both turned to face whoever it was.

"Tim?" Bigby said. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Good evening Sheriff," Tim replied. "Blue. I'm here to take you to the boss." He held out his hand to shake. "Thanks, by the way, for leaving off Tiny. You'd think I'd have outgrown that centuries ago."

Bigby shook his hand, and so did you.

"I have to admit," Tim continued. "When they told me to watch the door, I wasn't sure what to expect when you came through the portal. I know you aren't here on a social call."

"You've just been waiting for us to show up?" You asked. "You knew we were coming?"

"That's what they told me. I dunno, they said you made it pretty clear. I'm supposed to bring you in, so if you'll come this way."

He gestured to the hall behind him. You and Bigby looked at each other. You shrugged and let Tim lead you down the hall.

"Thanks for understanding," he said. "This is all I'm here to do, and I don't wanna mess it up."

"You shouldn't be here, Tim," Bigby said. "This place is dangerous, especially for someone like you."

"It's not like that. Whatever you two may think of him, he doesn't treat me like some broken little kid. I think he gets what it's like. He gave me a job, and I'm lucky to have it. This is the only option I've got."

You frowned, but said nothing. He had a point. If Fables couldn't get help the way they were supposed to, they would take what they could get.

"I understand the position you're in," Bigby replied. "But you don't have to do this. There are other things you can do."

"So it's just that simple?"

"Maybe not, but you don't wanna be a part of this."

"A lot of us depend on him."

You started walking faster, eager for this conversation to be over and to just get the Crooked Man already. Bigby sped up as well.

"Some of us never get to the front of the line at the Business Office," Tim continued. "But he's there. We need you, but we need him too. What we don't need is a war. Hey, wait up. I gotta go in with you."  
You and Bigby stopped to let him catch up.

"Thanks," he said.

You finally came up to a double door. You could hear people talking inside. You heard Jersey and Georgie, but you couldn't make out the rest. You gestured for Tim to open the door. He did so, letting you and Bigby enter the room as he announced you.  
Dum and Jersey were sitting in chairs on your left. Dee was standing by a desk at the back of the room. The blonde woman from the club was standing behind a sofa on the right. Georgie was sitting on one end of the sofa. A man was sitting on the other end.

So here he was. The Crooked Man.

"Thank you, Tim," he said. "I know the sheriff and his partner aren't the accommodating sort, but you handled it. You did well. You can go."

"Thank you, sir."

Tim closed the door behind him.

"You see?" the Crooked Man said. "Everyone in Fabletown has a role to fill. You just have to pay attention to what they need to help them find it. Why don't you have a seat? We have a great deal to discuss."

Bigby lit a cigarette and stayed silent. You resisted the urge to strangle the Crooked Man. You noticed Jersey holding a gun.

"You both must be tired," the Crooked Man said. "And if my envoys are correct, neither of you have had a lot of rest recently. Please, relax for a moment, will you? Do you want a drink? Something to eat? Vivian makes a very... it's elegant, really, her carpaccio."

"We're not here to eat your fuckin' food," you said.

"Really."

"Did I stutter?"

Bigby crushed his cigarette under his shoe. Jersey stood and pointed the gun at him. You raised your eyebrows at Jersey.

"What do you think you're doing?" the Crooked Man demanded.

"He's gonna--" Jersey started.

"They are our guests. And I have every intention of cooperating. So don't waste the silver. Sit down, Jersey."

Jersey scowled, but lowered the gun and sat back down.

"For the sake of transparency," the Crooked Man continued. "Why don't you tell us why you're here. It would help settle everyone's nerves, I think."

"You're destroying this town," Bigby said. "You've been doing it for ages."

"Destroying this town? What on earth do you mean?"

"Let's see, slavery, extortion, kidnapping, murder," you replied, ticking each crime off on your fingers.

"How are you certain this isn't some conspiracy against me?" the Crooked Man asked. "I'm a well-connected man, well-moneyed. People do like to take their shots at me."

"Who would try to pull that on you?" Bigby asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Fables with a grudge, people who want a stake in my shops and services. But I can understand the confusion, and I'm truly sorry about all the trouble this has caused you. And I hope you believe me when I say I sincerely mean to make it up to you."

He sighed. "The recent murders that have gotten such attention as of late--I don't relish telling you they were perpetrated by an employee of mine. It's a very unfortunate bit of business, but I promise you that the matter will be dealt with internally."

"We already know who did it," Bigby said.

"Forgive me for doubting your acumen, but who do you think committed these crimes?"

"We know it was you," you hissed.

"What must I say to convince you I'm innocent?" the Crooked Man asked. "It wasn't me. And I have complete respect for your jobs, really, I do, but I simply can't divulge the transgressor. I've got this under control."

"No, we're dealing with this, right now."

"What do you think this is?" Dee asked. "Some kind of negotiation? The man said he'd take care of it, so why don't you take the hint and get out."

"Tweedle Dee, please," the Crooked Man said.

"We're the law here, not you," you snapped at Dee. "Tell us who did it."

"You think I'm scared of you?" Dee chuckled.

"I'll make you fear me."

"You're nothin' more than a--"

"That's enough," the Crooked Man cut him off. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but in the interest of preserving our alliance, if you have to know, it was Georgie. However, like I said, I'll be handling the matter if you don't mind."

"Yeah, I killed 'em," Georgie said. "So what?"

You debated ripping his eyes out right here and now.

"Why'd you do it?" Bigby asked. "Why kill them?"

"Does it matter?" Georgie replied.

"Look," the Crooked Man said. "The fact is, George here misinterpreted one of my instructions."

"Misinterpreted?!" Georgie exclaimed.

"And I want to make things right. So let's work something out."

"What's there to work out?" Georgie demanded. "I'm protected, aren't I?"

"Your protection has its limits," the Crooked Man said flatly. "And I think you've far exceeded yours. That you could murder someone in cold blood like that."

"You fuckin' asked me to do it!" Georgie yelled. "You told me to kill them!"

"And then attempt to blame me for it! You will be silent while we discuss what to do with you."

"This is right bollocks, this!" He looked to the others. "You're just gonna let him do this?"

No one replied.

"So what do you say?" the Crooked Man asked. "Can we discuss terms? You can have Georgie. Consider it a gift, ensuring our continued cooperation."

"What the hell?" Vivian demanded.

"Take this fucker!" Georgie shouted. "Take all of 'em! I didn't fuckin' start this!"

"Don't make any trouble, Georgie," Jersey warned.

"We'll take Georgie," you said to the Crooked Man. "And you. End of fuckin' story."

"I'd advise against that approach, Blue," the Crooked Man warned.

"You can't just hand me over!" Georgie yelled. "What the fuck is this shit? You said you'd cover for us!"

"For minor infractions, not murder."

"Just go with them Georgie," Jersey said. "You're gonna sink us all."

"What's wrong with you people?!" Vivian demanded. "You're really gonna sell him out just like that?"

"Who the shit do you fuckers think you are?!" Georgie demanded.

"Just surrender!" Jersey yelled.

"Get the fuck outta here!" Dee yelled at the same time.

The Crooked Man gestured to you and Bigby. "I do apologize, but it's best if you leave now."

"There's no way I'm going with them!" Georgie snapped. "Are you kidding me?"

"Things are about to get unpleasant," the Crooked Man continued. "And I'd rather you weren't here to watch."

"You can join that whore at the bottom of the lake for all I give a shit, but they're not takin' me anywhere. I'd roll over on the lot of you before I let that shit happen!"

"What're you saying?" Jersey asked.

"Yeah, what the fuck?" Dee agreed. "You're gonna make sure we all go down the shitter with you?"

"We're not going anywhere," Bigby said.

The Crooked Man pinched the bridge of his nose. "This could've gone so well. To speak the truth I've never been a very good mediator. Why negotiate when you can just decide?"

He looked to his left. You followed his gaze to a mirror leaning against the wall. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up when Mary came out of the mirror.

"Did I miss anything good?" She asked. She looked at you and Bigby. "Well, look at you two, all fixed up."

A shadow rose on the wall behind her. You whipped around and ducked as Georgie swung a chair. Green light lit the room as Jersey dropped his glamour. You kicked Jersey's legs out from under him, then kicked him into the wall. A gunshot rang out behind you followed by the sound of shattering glass. Blueish light filled the room. You glanced to your right to see the stained glass shattered, and a portal open. You dodged Jersey and caught a glimpse of the Crooked Man and Mary going through the portal. You knocked Jersey down again.

A yelp behind you made you turn around. Dee was down, and Georgie was holding a bloody knife. Bigby punched Georgie, sending him spinning around to you. Georgie tried to stab you, but you caught his wrist and forced his arm to turn inwards. You pushed hard, and the blade went hilt-deep into his stomach. You let go as he fell to his knees cursing.

You caught movement out of your peripheral and tried to block Jersey's hit, but the coat rack hit you in the ribs hard. All the breath in your lungs rushed out in a wheeze as pain bloomed in your ribs, and you fell to your knees. Georgie's groaning went away after a moment, and a crash sounded on your right. You finally caught your breath and stood.

Georgie and Vivian were gone, presumably through the portal. The only ones left standing were you and Bigby. You shared a look, and ran through the portal.

You both came out facing a street. On the other side, Vivian was closing a door of a car. You could see Georgie already inside. She saw you and Bigby, and she ran to the driver's side and got in. You and Bigby ran to the car as the engine started, and he lifted the back end up off the ground. An idea struck you. You popped open the trunk and lifted yourself inside.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bigby asked.

"If they manage to take off, I sure as fuck won't be able to keep up," you explained quickly. "And Georgie's mine."

Before anything else could be said, the car jerked forward. Bigby dropped the car, and the trunk door slammed shut. You curled in on yourself as your back slammed against the back of the trunk. You groaned, and tried to stay still as the car swerved back and forth, occasionally spinning.

It was a damn miracle you didn't throw up.

Finally, after God only knew how long, the car stopped. You heard two of the car doors open and close, along with Georgie groaning and cursing.

In that moment you realized you hadn't completely thought this through.

You kicked at the trunk, hoping to force it open. You looked for the latch with no luck. You kicked at the back of the trunk, hoping to break through the backseat. You felt around for some kind of tool to break it open. Finally, cursing and starting to panic, you kicked a taillight and shattered it. You stuck your arm through, trying not to cut yourself, and reached around, trying to open the trunk from the outside. The trunk opened, though not from your efforts.

"Thank God," you breathed as Bigby helped you out.

"How'd that go?" He asked.

"Zero stars. Terrible driving, and faulty doors, and no seatbelt. I should report them."

He huffed a laugh. You noticed the Pudding N Pie on your left. The mood quickly dropped as the two of you went inside. As you went down the entrance hall, you could hear Georgie and Vivian talking--or rather, Vivian talking, and Georgie groaning and cursing. He cursed again when you entered the room. They were sitting on one of the back benches.

"I hoped you'd come to your senses," he said, holding his stomach. He stood. "Crooked Man's the one you want. But of course, you're both too stupid to see that. Or maybe you just like me too much to let me go."

"We're taking you in, Georgie," Bigby replied. "Let's go."

Georgie stumbled and caught himself on the railing next to the stage. "You gonna carry me?"

You stormed up to him. Vivian stepped in front of you. "Please, Blue, haven't you done enough? Look at him, he's dying."

"Vivian," Georgie warned. "You don't know what you're doin'."

"I'm trying to help you," she replied.

"Are you seriously trying to protect him?" You demanded.

"It isn't his fault!" She insisted.

"_He killed my sister!_ He made sure she couldn't talk with one of those fucking ribbons, and then he murdered her! Does that not bother you at all?"

"Of course it does! Those girls, they're like--"

"So it's all my fuckin' fault then?" Georgie snapped. "You fucking--"

"I didn't mean--" Vivian started.

"You're gonna throw me to the fuckin' wolf and his bitch too?" He cut her off. "You know I didn't have a goddamn choice! I did what I had to! You can't fuckin' blame me for that!"

"You didn't have to do anything," Bigby snapped.

"Like hell I didn't! Look, Faith and others tried to pull a runner on us, and as you can imagine the Crooked Man wasn't too thrilled. But of course, the big boss didn't wanna get his fuckin' hands dirty, so he told me to take care of it. You think I don't know what that means? Either I do what he says, or I'm the one gettin' dealt with. So I killed them, and I'd do it again."

"You're still the one who pulled the trigger. Nobody held your hand and made you go through with it."

"What was I supposed to do? Neither of you know what it's like. How could you know? At the end of the day you're just like him, comin' in here and talking about options."

"You could've done anything else," you growled. "You could've let them go! You could've freed Faith and Lily from those ribbons instead of murdering them!"

"You don't know what the fuck you're talkin' about. If I freed them..." He looked at Vivian. She stared back at him. He looked back at you and Bigby. "What would you have me do, kill her?"

"Georgie, don't," Vivian warned, panic creeping in her voice.

"It was them or Vivian," he continued. "So you tell me: if freein' them meant them meant she had to die, do you still think I had a fuckin' choice?"

You looked at Vivian. "What do you have to do with it?"

She didn't reply. Georgie went over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "This is the original. The girl with the ribbon. I'm sure you've heard the stories. Couldn't take it off, couldn't talk about it. She used her little purple ribbon to make of 'em, to keep our girls quiet, to ensure absolute discretion."

She stepped back. "You promised you wouldn't."

"All that magic is connected to this little thing. You remove hers, and the spell's broken. They're all freed. But you know what happens to her? The same thing that happened to Faith. So don't you come in here and tell me I fucked up."

You turned to Vivian. "I thought you cared about them."

"Of course I do!" She insisted. "You have to understand, nobody was supposed to die. When we built this place, it was just a stupid idea, a gimmick. Discretion is our guarantee. This was supposed to be our place. We were gonna be in control for once, and nobody would try to control us, or use us, that was the point. Then the Crooked Man showed up, and everything turned to shit."

"So do you get it now?" Georgie asked. "Why I couldn't just--"

He cut himself off with a groan and leaned against the railing. "If you still think it's so fuckin' simple, then you do it. Go right ahead, kill her."

"God, Georgie, that's not gonna happen," you snapped.

"You think this is hard for you?" Vivian snapped at him. "My life is such a fucking burden on your conscience. Don't I get a say? It's my life!"

"I didn't mean--" Georgie started.

"Just shut up! I'm sick of everyone thinking they can just do what they want with my life. I thought it would be different here. But it's all the fucking same."

"Vivian, I didn't mean--"

"Do you think I wanted to be this person? What I did to Faith and Lily, to all of them...every day I have to look Gwen and Hans in the eye and pretend I don't care. I have to forget what I've done to them, what I took away from them. I look at Nerissa and I _hate_ myself."

She grabbed her ribbon. "I can’t pretend anymore."

You blanched. "Don't."

"What are you doing?" Bigby asked.

"Vivian, no!" Georgie shouted.

"Goodbye, Georgie," she whispered.

Vivian pulled the ribbon off. Her head came off and landed on the ground, followed by her body. You took a step back out of shock and turned around, covering your eyes.

"_Jesus_," Bigby muttered.

Georgie said something, but you ignored him. You took a deep breath and turned back around, lowering your arm.

Georgie was sitting on the ground next to Vivian's body, leaning against the cigarette machine.

"Get up," you ordered.

"Don't think so, Blue," he wheezed. He moved his hand away from his wound. His innards were starting to spill out. "I'm gonna die here. We all know that. Just make sure you give the Crooked Man the same treatment when you find him."

"He'll be getting it worse," you promised flatly.

"Old foundry by the river, alright? Sheppard Metalworks. That's where he'll be, the bastard. No more games, alright? Just make it quick."

Part of you wanted to walk away. Leave Georgie here to suffer before he died. After what he did to Faith, he deserved nothing less.

But you also wanted to see it happen. To watch the light leave his eyes, to see him die. To know you were the one who did it. And you didn't have time to sit here and wait. The Crooked Man was still out there, you still had to catch that bastard too.

You crouched in front of Georgie. Then you snapped his neck. You stood and walked out, not looking back.


	13. Chapter 13

A car was parked outside the foundry when you and Bigby got there. You tried the door of the foundry, but it was locked. Bigby forced it open, and you went inside.

Neither of you had said a word after you left the club. You didn't want to talk, and Bigby didn't seem to have anything to say. You could tell he was worried about you. You wanted to tell him you were okay, but you didn't have the energy to lie at the moment.

From the outside, the foundry didn't seem to be running anymore. Now that you were inside, you supposed that was exactly what the Crooked Man had wanted, because this place was definitely still in working order.

Trying to find a way down to the bottom floor was a bit of a bitch. There seemed to be no ladders or stairs down from this point of view, just a bunch of machinery. The lights hanging from the ceiling provided some direction, though the glow they casted was dim.

You came to a chalkboard standing by a table of weapons. On the board were photos, mostly of Faith, Lily and Nerissa. You noticed a few of Bigby as well.

You narrowed your eyes at one in particular. A photo of you and Faith, the last time you had seen her. You remembered that day clearly. You'd gone out to lunch at a cafe. You hadn't talked in a while, yet as soon as you got together, it was almost like no time had passed. Catching up was needed, and it was done in great detail, like the two of you were exchanging campfire stories.

You blinked, bringing yourself back to the present. You wished you'd gotten together more often. You felt Bigby's eyes on you, no doubt having seen the photo, no doubt worrying about you even more. You took the photo off the board and stuck in your pocket. No one else was gonna have that day except you.

Eventually you turned into a room. There was a workbench against the far wall. On it were bullets and the molds to make them. The bullets were silver.

The hairs on the back of your neck stood, and something grabbed the back of your shirt collar and yanked you up and back. You gagged when the front of the collar pressed hard and tight against your throat. Whatever grabbed you let you go just as quick, and you landed on your feet a few feet away from where you'd been standing.

"It's about time you showed up," Mary drawled. She was standing between you and Bigby. At least she didn't have an axe this time.

You instinctively rubbed at your neck, and he glanced at you. You dropped your hand and nodded. You were fine.

Footsteps behind you made you turn. The Crooked Man stepped into the light. "I see you've both made it here in one piece. I do apologize, but I have some business to attend to. I leave you in the capable hands of my associate."

He turned to Mary. "Come find me when you're finished, dear."

"Don't worry," she replied. "This won't take long."

"Cut this shit out," Bigby growled.

"Aw, he doesn't wanna play."

"I'm sure you'll persuade him," the Crooked Man said, leaving the room.

Your first instinct was to follow him, but you _really_ did _not_ want to leave Bigby alone with Bloody fucking Mary. Bigby caught your eyes, and something passed between you that told he would be fine.

Mary's back was turned to you. You ran for it, frantically looking around for wherever the Crooked Man had gone. There was no sign of him.

Bigby shouted your name, and you whipped around. You barely had time to react as Mary tackled you over the railing of the walkway. She had shifted forms, apparently, and now had glass shards sticking out of her.

You landed hard on top of a giant hanging tank, her on top of you. You held your arms up in front of your face, and her nails raked down your skin. You grunted and kicked your right leg up, kneeing her in the back. You punched her in the face as she lurched forward, grazing your knuckles on one of glass shards. She shrieked and disappeared.

You scrambled to your feet and looked around. You could hear her, but you couldn't see her. You couldn't see Bigby, either.

Something suddenly scratched your back. You yelped and turned, but nothing was there. You heard Mary from behind you, and you whipped around, guarding your face. She scratched your abdomen. Fuck, she was fast.

You heard her again, but before you could turn, she grabbed your left ankle and threw you. You screamed. You braced yourself for the impact that would surely break every fucking bone in your body, given how hard she flung you, but it never came. Instead something caught you in midair, and set you down safely on the ground.

You didn't have time to thank Bigby before Mary was on top of you again, though not literally this time. Then there were multiple Marys. As in, more and more kept materializing out of fucking nowhere, and you couldn't figure out which was the real Bloody Mary. All the fake ones shattered like glass when killed, but more were quick to replace each other.

You were quickly pinned. At least five of them were holding you down, scratching and clawing at you, and you couldn't get any of them off. Suddenly they let you go. You scrambled to your feet, and your jaw dropped.

Bigby was a giant fuckin' wolf. You had never met him in the Homelands, and before you started working together, you had only seen him as a human around town. No wonder all the Marys were attacking him now instead of you.

You probably wouldn't tell him your first thought was "big puppy."

When he started sucking in air, you ran for cover behind one of the tanks. And when he blew all that air back out, you figured the cigarettes definitely were not fucking up his lungs that bad. Dozens of fake Marys blew past you and shattered. You peered around the tank when it stopped, and saw Bigby leap into the air at the real Mary.

She met him halfway. He closed his jaw around her, and she shattered. He landed, and roared. You couldn't help a small, proud grin. You noticed clothes laid out nearby, and ducked back behind the tank as he shifted back to a human to give him some privacy.

He called you, and you came out. His eyes were still yellow, and he almost seemed nervous.

"That was awesome," you breathed.

He straightened a little. He looked up behind you, and you turned.

The Crooked Man was watching from a room above you. Once he noticed you watching, he went away from the window.

"That's just fuckin' creepy," you muttered.

Bigby started for a nearby ladder. When he noticed you weren't following, he stopped.

"I can't go up there," you said quietly, still watching the window.

"Why not?" He asked.

You looked at him. "Because if I do, I'm gonna kill him."

He didn't reply. You didn't continue. Bigby nodded, and went up to get the Crooked Man alone. Once he was inside that room, you climbed up the ladder and waited.

Only a few minutes later did he come out with the Crooked Man in handcuffs. You followed them out, wishing the Crooked Man would do something, _anything_ to justify you ripping his throat out. But he didn't.


	14. Chapter 14

Your hopes for a quick trial were quickly dashed upon entering the Witching Well Chamber. Snow had gathered a small group of Fables--Gren, Holly, Bluebeard, Beauty, Beast, Greenleaf and Johann. As soon as they saw you and Bigby with the Crooked Man, they all began to shout for his death.

"Everyone, can I have your attention?" Snow cut in. "Thank you for coming on such short notice. I know normally we'd schedule a formal heading, but given the circumstances I thought it best not to wait. The Crooked Man is charged with the murders of Faith and Li--"

"As I already informed your sheriff and his partner," the Crooked Man interrupted. "It was Mr. Georgie Porgie who killed those women, not me."

"Georgie may have killed them, but you made the call," Bigby said.

"Do I have to explain the situation to you again?" the Crooked Man sighed.

"Wait, so Georgie's the motherfucker who killed my sister?" Holly asked. "Where is he?"

"Justice has already been dispatched," the Crooked Man replied. "Bigby executed him."

"Wrong," you said sharply. "Georgie attacked me, forcing me to kill him in self-defense."

You caught Holly's gaze. You got a feeling she knew you were partially lying, but neither of you cared.

"So you see the culprit has been dealt with," the Crooked Man said. "There is no need for this--"

"That doesn't change anything," Snow cut him off. "We'll deal with it later, but right now you're the one I'm concerned with."

"Georgie made it clear as day that you were the one who called the shots," you said.

"In which case you still have a lot to answer for. And I'd--"

"I was told I would be allowed to speak," the Crooked Man interrupted.

"We have to read the rest of the charges--"

"What charges?"

"Why don't you shut up and you'll find out," you said sweetly. The look in your eyes left no room for argument.

"You are charged with the murder of Faith and Lily, which Georgie carried out on your order," Snow said. "Inciting violence against various members of the Fabletown community, including the attempted murder of Sheriff Bigby Wolf and Blue."

"Twice," you and Bigby said at the same time.

"A misunderstanding," the Crooked Man insisted.

You wondered how attempted murder could be a misunderstanding.

"Aiding and providing monetary support for the forced prostitution at the Pudding N Pie," Snow continued, ignoring him. "Additionally, you are charged with multiple counts of fraud, extortion, racketeering and the illegal possession and sale of magical artifacts. Now, is there anything you would like to say?"

"First of all, I had nothing to do with Faith and Lily, so you can strike that one from your little record book," the Crooked Man said. "Second--"

"Bullshit!" Gren shouted. "Like hell you didn't!"

"Stop the charade," Bluebeard ordered. "We know you're involved."

"It's obvious!" Beauty agreed.

"And there's all the other shit he's done!" Holly added.

"Everyone just shut up for a minute!" Bigby snapped. He turned to the Crooked Man. "You wanted a chance to talk, here it is."

"We all know he's guilty!" Gren argued. "What the fuck does he need to speak for?"

"The Crooked Man has committed crimes against this government and, most importantly, its citizens," Snow replied. "These charges, if proven, are enough to justify your death, upon which your body will be committed to the Witching Well."

"Where it fuckin' belongs," Gren said.

"But we promised you a chance to defend yourself, and I won't rob you of that right."

"You really want to let him talk?" Bluebeard asked incredulously.

"This is about justice," she replied. "If we're ever going to pull ourselves together and make something of this town, we have to start doing things correctly. No more snap judgments, no more secrets. We are going to treat everyone fairly, even when they don't deserve it."

Bigby uncuffed the Crooked Man. You crossed your arms.

"You have the floor," Snow said.

"Thank you, Miss White," the Crooked Man replied. "You've all met Georgie. I don't have to tell you what kind of person he was. He was a total scoundrel, lacking in any sort of moral fiber. I hired him as a favor to his family, you see, a promise kept to a dying mother."

"Are you gonna get to your point or what?" Holly demanded.

"Georgie was working for me, yes," he admitted. "But he was _not_ acting on my behalf when he killed those women. It was his business, and for whatever reason I'm sure only he could understand, he killed two of his most faithful employees. I had nothing to do with it."

"Georgie seemed pretty convinced he didn't have a say in the matter," Bigby argued.

"He clearly misunderstood my intention. I would never authorize such an act."

"Any of you believe this bullshit?" Holly asked.

"Holly, please," Snow said.

"Tell them Bigby, Blue," the Crooked Man said. "When you showed up at my door last night, wasn't I more than helpful? I answered your questions, I was willing to cooperate."

"You weren't being helpful," Bigby replied. "You were trying to set us up."

"Your people tried to kill us," you added.

"They get a bit carried away sometimes, it's true," the Crooked Man said. "Loyal to the end. They do it because they want to protect me, as I have protected them. You understand wanting to protect what you care about, don't you? You'd do anything. You might even give up an innocent man."

"They don't do it because they care about you," you argued. "They do it because they're afraid if they don't they'll end up dead."

"Let me explain this to you. My employees are just that: hired help. They are not my slaves. They are all free to make their own decisions, as Georgie was."

"What about Lily?" Holly demanded. "She wasn't free, she wasn't given a choice. Do you really think she--"

She stopped and glanced at you, then turned back to the Crooked Man. "That _any_ of those girls wanted their lives like that?"

"I'm sorry, Holly. I'm sorry your sister came to me for help, and I'm sorry I decided against my better judgement to give her a distasteful job."

"Right, and you kept them in debt so they couldn't leave," Snow said.

"That's what you did to us," Beast said. "How you kept us all in line."

"You forget it was not me who put you in that position," the Crooked Man insisted. "You all act like I'm some kind of tyrant. When your government abandoned you, left you poor and helpless, sniveling on street corners, I was there to help you."

"Crane was the one who let this town go to the fuckin' dogs," Bigby corrected. "The guy who was in your pocket, remember?"

"What about Auntie Greenleaf?" the Crooked Man asked. "Her story is not uncommon. She left everything she had back in the Homelands. Everything that mattered, anyway. With nowhere else to turn, she came to me for help." He turned to Greenleaf. "And what did I do for you?"

"You got my tree back," she admitted.

"I got her tree back. And in turn we used her magic to make glamours for poor Fables. And what did they do?"

"For the longest time, not much. But they asked me to come work for them."

"Really? The new deputy mayor wants you on the Thirteenth Floor?"

"No. The wolf offered me the job." Greenleaf glared at Snow. "She wanted my tree burned. If she had had her way, I'd have been hung out to dry on a clothesline by now."

"You were gonna burn her tree?" Beast asked. "Snow, why would you want that?"

"I had very good reasons!" Snow insisted. "She was working with Crane and the Crooked Man!"

"You can lie to yourself but you can't lie to me," Greenleaf snapped. "You hated Crane, and you hated him for wanting to fuck you and you being too soft to notice what he'd do to get it. It had nothing to do with the Crooked Man."

"We've made some mistakes. I've made some mistakes. But believe me, I truly want what's best for this town. And that may not always be clear right away. But I want you to know that I care deeply about all of you."

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but we've been doing all this to protect you," Bigby added. "We're trying to stop people like him."

"The Crooked Man's been exploiting you, exploiting your hope for a better life. You would go to him for help, and he would take that weakness and add it to his strength. And if things didn't fall exactly his way, someone would die."

"Do you honest to God think he cares about any of you?" You asked. "The only things he cares about are your money and obedience."

"You're still afraid of him, even now," Snow continued. "But you needn't be. His contamination of this town is over, and those girls will have justice."

The Crooked Man clapped. "Very good, very good. The sentiment is surely appreciated, Miss White. But it doesn't disguise the fact that these accusations are completely unfounded. There simply isn't a particle of evidence linking me to the murders."

"Georgie was working for you!" Snow said. "Bigby got a confession--"

"A confession that nobody heard!"

"Hi, hello," you cut in, voice raised. "I was there, I heard the confession."

"Don't you think you're a bit biased, dear?" He asked.

"No, I don't."

"This doesn't feel right," Beauty said. "How we're doing this."

You stared at her.

"Of course it's right!" Bluebeard snapped. "This man tormented all of you for profit! Georgie killed--"

"Let me just make sure I understand you," the Crooked Man interrupted. "You're trying to say that I'm responsible for what Georgie did because he was working for me at the time, yes?"

"Yes."

"If I'm to blame for Georgie's mistakes, shouldn't Miss White be held accountable for Bigby's actions as well?"

"Like what?" Snow asked flatly.

"How about the way he treated the poor Woodsman when he was in your custody? He was beaten to mashed apples under your watch."

"That was Bluebeard's doing," you snapped.

"Besides, Crane was still deputy mayor when that happened," Snow said. "Right before you decided to kidnap him."

"That was for his own protection," the Crooked Man replied. He paused. "Oh, you're right, Crane was in charge. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference."

"That's enough."

"So you won't answer for your employee's behavior, but I must perish for mine?"

"This is completely different! We all--"

"I did not order those two girls dead. It simply never happened. Georgie killed Faith and Lily, end of story."

The Crooked Man turned to the others. "They want to scapegoat me for their own tangled ends, but they refuse to answer for their own crimes."

What followed next was a crazed chorus of protests, either against the Crooked Man's death or his words. You had had enough.

"_Shut up!_" You shouted. "This is _not_ what we're here for!"

"This is what I'm talking about," the Crooked Man said. "We lashed our ropes to this diseased world, and ever since, which one of us has been there to take care of you? Who filled your lives with the promise of more? Who was there while they idly played in their towers, judging you, treating you as children too stupid to command your destiny. Without me, who will pay your rent when you're on the verge of eviction? Who will dare challenge their brutality when it leaks to our own dear citizens? Who will protect you from the Big Bad Wolf?"

You saw red. Your fists clenched, you sneered, and you tensed, ready to tackle this son of a bitch to the ground--

"Bigby! Blue!"

You blinked, and you all turned to the entrance. Nerissa came running.

"I wanted to make sure I had a chance to say something," she said, slightly breathless.

"Why don't you take a moment to catch your breath, little one?" the Crooked Man suggested.

"What's she doing here?" Bluebeard demanded.

"I need to say something," Nerissa said.

"We're kind of in the middle of something here."

"_Shut up_, Bluebeard," you snapped.

Nerissa turned to the Crooked Man. "You probably don't remember me. I don't know why I was afraid to come here."

"My dear, I don't know--"

"Just shut up! You enslaved us for years, let us hear stories about what you'd do, told us we would lose everything if we stepped just one toe out of line, and we couldn't say a word about it because of these damn ribbons. But you know what? Now it's my turn to talk."

"How are you--"

"I found Vivian's body. Did you kill her?" She turned to you and Bigby. "Did he?"

"She wanted to free you," you said. "She took her own life."

"I'm sorry," the Crooked Man said. "Um, I don't think I know your--"

"Nerissa!" She said. "My name is Nerissa!"

"It's okay, it's going to be just--"

"He ordered them dead, this fucker, Faith and Lily--"

"That's a lie!"

"I was in the goddamn _room_ when he did it!"

Your eyes widened.

"Faith and Lily are dead because of you!" Nerissa continued. "The only two people who ever gave a damn about me! And now I can finally say you're an asshole, and I hope you rot at the bottom of the Witching Well for what you did. He made Georgie do it. It was always him, Georgie would never have done anything without his say-so, ever."

"You're going to take the word of a stupid--" the Crooked Man started.

"At least five other girls will back me up on this!" Nerissa cut him off. "We all heard you."

"Did you now."

"Looks like we have our evidence," Bigby said.

The others began calling for the Crooked Man's death, shouting that he was guilty. Bigby cuffed him.

"You're all rats," the Crooked Man hissed. "Fleeing from one sinking ship to the next. So quick to latch on to whatever will keep your miserable lived afloat. This is how you want to repay all I've done for you?"

"What did you expect?" You asked. "You are getting exactly what you deserve."

"Now for your sentence," Snow said.

"We don't have to become murderers!" Greenleaf protested.

"What do you mean?" Bluebeard demanded.

"He's guilty, I know that," she replied. "But we don't have to kill anyone. We can imprison him, lock him up forever somewhere he won't hurt anyone ever again!"

"How can we be sure he won't escape?" Snow asked.

"I can help. We can use magic. I assure you--"

"That's not good enough!" Bluebeard snapped.

"Maybe she has a point," Beauty said.

"There will be more if he isn't stopped," Nerissa said.

"So we get rid of him!" Gren said.

"We can send him away!" Greenleaf insisted.

"Everyone, listen up!" Snow yelled. "Clearly we're having trouble agreeing on a suitable punishment."

"This is going nowhere," Bluebeard grumbled.

"Someone has to make a decision!"

"I hope you aren't suggesting yourself."

"What about Bigby?" Nerissa suggested. "He was appointed. He's the only official representative, really. He should be the judge."

Murmurs of agreement, albeit somewhat reluctant, came from the crowd.

"Okay," Snow said. "Mr. Wolf, it's your call."

Bigby looked to you. You nodded encouragingly. You knew he would do the right thing.

The Crooked Man threw his cuffed hands around your neck so the chain of the cuffs was pressed against your throat, and started dragging you. You automatically grabbed at the chain, trying desperately to pull it away, to get him off you, but he didn't budge. You knew he was dragging you to the Well, that he would throw himself over the edge and take you with him. A desperate act for a desperate man.

You went limp. Dead weight was hard to hold up so suddenly, no matter how strong you were. He was forced to bend over, the chain of the cuffs going loose around your neck, and you seized your opportunity. You shoved his hands over your head and away from you and pushed yourself back up straight. You grabbed the Crooked Man and punched him once, twice, three times, and dangled him over the edge of the Well.

For a brief moment, you wondered if it would be better to let him live. Draw out his days in suffering until his death. You could enjoy the thought of him suffering.

But it was only for a moment.

You slammed his head against the edge of the well, satisfied at the sickening crack that echoed in impact, and you let go. You watched the Crooked Man fall down into the Witching Well.

You could feel everyone watching you, with varying degrees of approval and horror. The chamber was silent, save for the dripping sounds echoing from somewhere deeper in the cave. You turned and headed for the exit. No one said anything. Neither did you.


	15. Chapter 15

Everything kind of blurred together as you went up to your apartment. You didn't really register any of it until you had closed the front door behind you. You changed out of your dirty and bloody clothes into some clean ones, and you rinsed your face off in the bathroom sink. Your reflection caught you off guard.

Bruises, little cuts and scrapes littered your face. Marks were beginning to appear where the handcuff chain had dug in. Your fingertips lightly brushed along the marks, and the ones on your face. Surprisingly, they didn't hurt. You wondered if it was because of the adrenaline, and you had yet to crash back down. Or maybe you had gone numb to more than just your emotions.

You trudged back to your bedroom regardless. You could hear your bed calling you, and you more than ready and willing to answer. You noticed something on the floor by your pants and picked it up. It was the photo of you and Faith you had taken from that board in the foundry.

Something in your heart strained. Granted, it had been straining for a few days now, but this time...this time you were pretty sure it was about to break. You set the photo down on your bed and pressed the heels of your hands against your eyes. You tried to control your breathing, but it was no use.

You lost it. You hit the wall once, then twice, then you kicked your bed a few times. Your face was hot, and the tears did nothing to cool you down. If anything they seemed to make it worse.

Three quick knocks on your front door made you freeze. You wiped your face with the hem of your shirt, taking a few deep breaths, and counted to three before you went to open it.

"Did I leave a mess behind?" You asked, trying not to wince at how rough your voice sounded.

"Not really," Bigby replied, coming in.

You shut the door.

"Back at the foundry, you said you couldn't go up there because you would've killed him," he said.

You crossed your arms. "Yeah, and?"

"And you killed him at the Well. Why'd you wait?"

"That trial needed to happen," you replied. "They needed to see for themselves exactly what he was like."

He nodded. You could tell there was more.

"What?" You asked. "Whatever else you wanna ask me, Bigby, just ask me."

You passed him and headed for the kitchen.

"If he hadn't grabbed you, would you still have killed him?"

You stopped and turned. "Yeah. I would've. One way or another. He ordered my sister dead as if she were nothing but cattle, and then he had the balls to act like there was no blood on his hands. I wasn't gonna let him get away with it. I was always going to kill him."

"So it wouldn't have mattered what I decided."

"Don't give me that," you hissed. "I know you knew. You knew that's what I was gonna do, and you knew nothing and no one was gonna stop me, so _don't_, Bigby."

You clenched your fists, digging your nails into your palms in an attempt at distracting yourself from the burning in your eyes. You turned and went to the kitchen. You got a glass down for some water. One of the photos stuck on your fridge caught your attention--that one of you and Faith, when you had gotten the blue hair. The same photo that had been hanging on the wall in her apartment.

You bit your lip until you tasted blood, vision swimming with tears. You grabbed the edge of the counter and leaned over. Footsteps came and stopped in the doorway. Bigby called you. You shook your head and swallowed.

"Just give me a minute," you whispered.

You wished you could say the same thing to your heart. You weren't sure how much more you could take this, and you didn't really want to find out.

Bigby came over to you and put his hand on your shoulder, and that bit of your heart that had been straining finally snapped.

A hiccup, and then a sob left you. Your knees buckled, and you couldn't hold yourself up anymore. He caught you as you collapsed, sobbing so hard it felt like your heart was gonna leave your throat.

Everything you'd been holding in, all the pain and hurt and anger and grief--everything just came tumbling out. You hadn't thought it would happen on your kitchen floor, but you supposed shit just happens.

Bigby ended up carrying to you to bed. You asked him to stay, hating how broken you sounded. He got under the covers next to you. You weren't sure how fast you were out, but you were certain it would've taken you a lot longer if he hadn't been there.


	16. Chapter 16

You felt lighter the next day. Not completely okay; you weren't sure if you ever would be. But better. You supposed that was all you could hope for right now.

The line for the Business Office was longer than usual. You avoided the dirty looks some threw your way as you went to the elevator. Flycatcher had forgotten his keys, and you were bringing them down to him.

You slipped the key ring around your finger and twirled them around as you waited. He was taking Toad and TJ to the Farm today. You couldn't help but feel bad, even though there was nothing you could do.

The elevator doors opened. You gave Bigby a small smile and stepped in. You pressed the button for the lobby, and the doors closed again.

"Flycatcher forget his keys again?" He asked.

"Yup."

The doors opened, and the two of you stepped out into the lobby. You could see the orange truck parked outside. The sky was gloomy, and thunder rumbled as you went outside.

"Hey Flycatcher," you called.

Flycatcher came around the truck. You tossed him the keys.

"Oh, thank you," he said. "It's been, uh, pretty busy around here."

Toad came around and shoved a suitcase into the trunk. "Mornin'. Nice fuckin' day."

"Sorry about all this," Bigby apologized. "I tried to help."

"Just why the hell did she have to send me and me boy away, huh?" Toad demanded, climbing up into the trunk. "You promised me I'd get another chance, but she says I have to go anyway!"

TJ, already in the trunk, looked at you and held out a small box. "Can you give this to Miss White, please? Dad says there's no time to say goodbye, so, if you can bring it to her. She was nice."

You took the box.

"I couldn't take them all with me, and she said she liked this one the best."

You opened the lid. A blue bug was laying inside, with a note scrawled on the inside of the lid: _to Miss White, from TJ._

"It's a willow beetle," TJ said.

"I'm sure she'll love it," you replied, closing the lid and putting it in your pocket.

"We're about to head out," Flycatcher said.

"What's it like at the Farm?" TJ asked. "I heard ogres live there, and they eat people in their sleep sometimes."

"God, I hope not," Toad muttered.

"Do we have to go? I wanna stay here."

"It's a lot safer there," you said. "Plenty of space to run around and go swimming, and you won't have to worry about mundies seeing you."

"Have you ever been there, Blue?" TJ asked.

You nodded. "Yeah. It's real nice."

"We're all set," Flycatcher said.

"Bye," TJ said.

"Bye, TJ," you replied.

You and Bigby stepped back so the truck could pull away.

"Hey, Bigby," Toad called. "Where's your friend, Colin?"

"How should I know?" Bigby asked.

The truck drove off before Toad could retort. Rain started coming down. It felt nice.

"Saying goodbye?"

You looked across the street to see Nerissa. She was standing on the sidewalk with an umbrella and a duffel bag. You and Bigby crossed the street, and the three of you went under an awning behind her.

"You're still wearing that thing?" Bigby asked as she closed her umbrella.

She touched the ribbon still around her neck. "Oh. Yeah. It's not easy to forget. I know it seems like I should be able to, it's just..."

You nodded.

"Listen," she said. "I came here because I have to tell you both something."

"What is it?" You asked.

"It's about what happened to Faith and Lily. I'm not sure where to start. Faith, Lily and I, we had this plan. We were gonna find a way out, leave the Pudding N Pie for good. But then Faith decided to get some leverage. She stole a photo of Crane and Lily together. The minute she had that photo, we had dirt on one of the Crooked Man's allies. If he found out... I had no choice, you have to understand. You've seen how they kept us quiet at that place, can you imagine the lengths they'd go to just to silence someone with physical evidence?"

"What happened?" You asked, dreading the answer.

"I freaked out, okay," she replied. "I thought if I came clean to Georgie, he'd get the Crooked Man to leave us alone. We could just forget the whole thing, maybe try again in a few years. So I told him everything, and I begged for mercy for all of us. I didn't want anyone to die over a picture!"

You stared at her.

"Georgie promised he'd smooth things over with the Crooked Man," Nerissa continued. "But then..."

Bigby offered her a cigarette. She took it. "I don't know what happened, but that night, at the club, Georgie came back and told me things had changed. He had to make an example of us, we had committed treason. And while the two of us were sitting there, as he was telling me this, Faith walked in, and I had to watch while Georgie..." She stopped.

"Wait, so it was Georgie who told you all this?" Bigby asked. "Not the Crooked Man? Back at the Well you said--"

"I know what I said," she replied flatly.

"But it wasn't the truth, was it?"

"What does it matter? I know the Crooked Man did it. So what if it wasn't the truth? It was true enough. I know he ordered their deaths. I wasn't gonna let him get away with it because of a stupid technicality, especially after...that night, after Faith, I tried to warn Lily, but she wasn't with her scheduled appointment. So I did the only thing I could do."

"You left Faith's head here," you said.

Nerissa nodded. "I walked her over here, and I left her, just hoping that if I couldn't save them, I could at least save the rest of us."

"So you started all this?"

"I just pointed you in the right direction. People like us get forgotten all the time. The Crooked Man was counting on it. When we suffer, we do it in silence, and the world likes it that way. We just fade. Like we never even existed. I couldn't watch that happen to Faith or Lily. But you'll make things right."

"I don't know," Bigby said. "It seems like it's never enough."

"These people are impossible," you grumbled.

"I know it may feel that way, but they need you two," Nerissa said. "You make a good team. After everything you've done for us, maybe they don't want to admit it, but without you none of this would've happened. You listened when no one else would. You knew when to show mercy, and you brought justice to this town, finally. Because you brought the Crooked Man in, everyone saw who he really was. So from where I'm standing, you did the right thing."

She looked at you. "Faith would've been proud of you."

The look in her eyes was eerily familiar. You had vivid memories of Faith getting that same look in hers whenever she was planning something, and she wanted you in on it--usually a surprise, or some other secret.

As Nerissa picked up her bag and umbrella, something clicked in your brain. Why she seemed so familiar, why you immediately felt so comfortable around her.

"If you ever need anything," you started, eyes wide.

"I know where to find you," she replied.

She turned and started walking away. You debated going after her, demanding answers. But you knew it wasn't the time. She would be fine, and that's all you cared about.

"What's wrong?" Bigby asked.

You shook your head and whispered in his ear. He started after her, but you stopped him. "Let her go. She'll be back, sooner or later."

"But she--are you sure?"

You looked after her. "God no. When the time comes, I'll ask her. But for now I know she's alright, and that's enough. She needs time and space, after everything that's happened. She'll come back when she's ready, and I'll be here waiting. Gives me plenty of time to plan the best "what the actual fuck" speech I'll ever give, anyway."

He huffed a laugh, put his arm around your shoulders and kissed your temple.

Yeah, everything was gonna be just fine.


End file.
